Skills Beyond School Review of Switzerland

OECD Reviews of Vocational
Education and Training
A Skills beyond School

Review of Switzerland
Mihály Fazekas and Simon Field
skills.oecd: building the right skills and turning them into better jobs and better lives
OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training
A Skills beyond School

Review of Switzerland
Mihály Fazekas and Simon Field

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD.
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Please cite this publication as:

Fazekas, M. and S. Field (2013), A Skills beyond School Review of Switzerland, OECD Reviews of
Vocational Education and Training, OECD Publishing..
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264062665-en
ISBN 978-92-64-06266-5 (PDF)
Series: OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training

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ISSN 2077-7736 (online)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS – 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The review visits to Switzerland took place in April and June 2011. The
OECD is very grateful to the Swiss authorities in the Federal Office for
Professional Education and Technology (OPET), and the many individuals
involved, for all their work in providing information and advice and
organising the visits. We would also like to thank the many people from
different institutions and organisations who, during our visits, gave their
time to welcome us at their schools and other institutions and answered our
questions.
OECD REVIEWS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING: A SKILLS BEYOND SCHOOL REVIEW OF SWITZERLAND © OECD 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS – 5
Table of contents
Acronyms and key terms ................................................................................................. 8

Summary: strengths, challenges and recommendations .............................................. 9
Strengths......................................................................................................................... 9
Challenges and recommendations ................................................................................ 10
Chapter 1. Introduction and initial assessment............................................................ 11
The policy review of Switzerland and its place in the wider OECD study .................. 12
The structure of the report ............................................................................................ 13
A snapshot of the system.............................................................................................. 13
The system in international context ............................................................................. 16
Key international indicators ......................................................................................... 17
Previous OECD recommendations............................................................................... 22
Appreciation of the Swiss approach to postsecondary VET – key strengths ............... 23
Challenges .................................................................................................................... 28
References .................................................................................................................... 30
Chapter 2. Ensuring finance is no barrier to professional education and training .. 33
Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 34
References .................................................................................................................... 43
Chapter 3. Making the market work better – inter-cantonal financing
arrangements .................................................................................................................. 45
Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 46
References .................................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 4. Making the professional education and training (PET) market work
better – transparency and quality ................................................................................ 57
Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 58
References .................................................................................................................... 64
6 – TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 5. Responding to globalisation and technological change ............................ 67

Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 68
References .................................................................................................................... 76
Chapter 6. Improving numeracy and literacy skills .................................................... 81
Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 82
References .................................................................................................................... 90
Annex A: Overview of postsecondary vocational examinations in the three
Germanophone countries: Austria, Germany and Switzerland ................................ 93
Annex B: Comparison of three Swiss Advanced Federal PET Examinations with
similar US vocational qualifications ............................................................................. 97
Annex C: Ordinary least squares regression of earnings on general skills, ALL
survey, holders of Swiss PET degree, 2003 ................................................................ 101
Annex D: Overview of postsecondary professional colleges in selected OECD
countries........................................................................................................................ 105
Tables
Table 1.1 The Swiss labour market .................................................................................. 21

Table 2.1 Proportion of federal, cantonal, and private funding of tertiary education, %,
2006-2009 ........................................................................................................................ 37
Table 3.1 Cantonal shares in the national number of PET graduates and PET cost,
2007 ................................................................................................................................. 48
Table 4.1 Most frequently quoted criteria for provider choice, 2008 .............................. 59
Table 6.1 Top 10 reasons for observed drop-out of other students, interrupting own PET
studies, and changing own PET course, 2008 .................................................................. 84
Figures
Figure 1.1 The Swiss education system ........................................................................... 14

Figure 1.2 Number of graduates per year in professional colleges and UAS, 1980-2010,
without healthcare professions ......................................................................................... 18
Figure 1.3 Adults’ participation in formal and/or non-formal education, by educational
attainment......................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 1.4 Annual expenditure by educational institutions per student for all services
relative to GDP per capita (2008) .................................................................................... 20
TABLE OF CONTENTS – 7
Figure 2.1 Average costs of study for students in PET, per semester, CHF, 2008 (without
exam costs) ...................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 5.1 Inward foreign direct investment stock as a percentage of GDP .................... 69
Figure 6.1 Average annual earnings of PET graduates according to skills level in
document literacy, ALL Survey, 2003 ............................................................................. 88
Boxes
Box 1.1 Skills beyond School: the OECD study of postsecondary vocational education
and training ...................................................................................................................... 12
8 – ACRONYMS AND KEY TERMS
Acronyms and key terms
Advanced Federal Professional Education and Training (PET) Diploma

(eidgenössisches Diplom).
Advanced Federal Professional Education and Training (PET) Diploma
Examination (höhere Fachprüfung).
Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology, OPET
(Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und Technologie, BBT) professional colleges
(höhere Fachschulen).
Federal Professional Education and Training (PET) Diploma
(eidgenössischer Fachausweis).
Federal Professional Education and Training (PET) Diploma Examination
(Eidgenössische Berufsprüfung).
Preparatory course (vorbereitender Kurs).
Professional education and training (PET).
Universities and Federal Institutes of Technology (referred to as universities
throughout this report).
University of Applied Science (Fachhochschulen) (UAS).
SUMMARY: STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS – 9
Summary: strengths, challenges and recommendations
Strengths
• Employers and professional associations are engaged with and

actively contribute to professional education and training (PET).
The system is highly responsive to labour market needs.
• Policy development has a strong institutional leadership in the
Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET),
allowing consensus among stakeholders to be balanced by policy
development and reform.
• The system offers a flexible and effective response to diverse
student requirements, with part-time, evening, weekend and
modular provision.
• Work-based learning is generally well integrated into PET
programmes, with work linked to study for part-time students, and
substantial internships for full-time students.
• The professional exams effectively link upskilling to recognition of
prior learning.
• The PET system is well articulated with upper secondary VET,
offering a wide range of progression opportunities for graduate
apprentices.
• Teachers and trainers in professional colleges are well prepared both
in their vocational field and in pedagogy.
• While international recognition of PET programmes and
qualifications remains a challenge, it can build on the already
established high status of certain programmes.
10 – SUMMARY: STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Challenges and recommendations
• There are some potential financial and non-financial barriers to

access to PET, and government financial support may be biased
towards academic tertiary education.
− On a pilot basis, explore whether a loan and grant scheme
would remove an access barrier to participation in PET.
• In contrast to most other sectors of education and training,
inter-cantonal arrangements for funding PET are haphazard, leading
to confusion, unfairness and inefficiency.
− As already envisaged by the Swiss authorities, implement an
effective inter-cantonal financial agreement allowing for
consistent and co-ordinated funding across cantons in support
of an effective PET market.
• Information on the quality and costs of PET courses is inadequate,
and there are quality weaknesses in some areas.
− Collect and disseminate better information from PET providers
on course quality and costs. Encourage industry self-regulation
of preparatory courses to ensure high and consistent standards.
• Globalisation is putting a number of different pressures on the Swiss
PET system, intensifying the need for international recognition of
Swiss PET qualifications and demanding new higher level and
sometimes globally defined competencies as part of many jobs.
− Respond actively to globalisation and technological change by:
i) improved permeability and collaboration between PET and
academic tertiary education; and ii) strengthened international
network building on sectoral and professional college levels.
• Numeracy and literacy are of increasing importance in professional
occupations, and the PET system, alongside other parts of the Swiss
education system need to address them more effectively.
− Encourage a stronger emphasis on numeracy and literacy in
professional colleges, especially by introducing targeted
measures for remediating basic skills gaps identified on entry.
1. INTRODUCTION AND INITIAL ASSESSMENT – 11
Chapter 1
Introduction and initial assessment
This chapter describes the OECD policy study of postsecondary vocational

education and training (VET), the review of Switzerland, summarises the
main features of the country system and sets out an assessment of its
strengths and challenges.
12 – 1. INTRODUCTION AND INITIAL ASSESSMENT
The policy review of Switzerland and its place in the wider OECD
study
This review is one of a series of country reports on postsecondary

vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as
part of an OECD study (see Box 1.1). The series includes reviews, (such as
this one) involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set
of policy recommendations backed by analysis. In addition there are
commentaries. These simpler exercises are largely descriptive but also
including an assessment of strengths and challenges in the country system.
The commentaries are designed to be of value as free-standing reports, but
are also prepared so that they can become the first phase of a full review,
should a country so wish.
Box 1.1 Skills beyond School: the OECD study of postsecondary

vocational education and training
Increasingly countries look beyond secondary school to more advanced

qualifications to provide the skills needed in many of the fastest growing
technical and professional jobs in OECD economies. The OECD study, Skills
beyond School, is addressing the range of policy questions arising, including
funding and governance, matching supply and demand, quality assurance and
equity and access. The study will build on the success of the previous OECD
study of vocational education and training Learning for Jobs. which examined
policy through 17 country reviews and a comparative report. The study also
forms part of the horizontal OECD Skills Strategy (OECD, 2012).
Full country policy reviews are being conducted in Austria, Denmark, Egypt,
Germany, Israel, Korea, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom
(England), and the United States (with case studies of Florida, Maryland and
Washington State). Shorter exercises leading to an OECD country commentary
will be undertaken in Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Iceland, Romania, Spain,
Sweden and in Northern Ireland and Scotland in the United Kingdom.
Background reports will be prepared in all these countries, and in France,
Hungary and Mexico.
See: www.oecd.org/education/vet
This review follows a standard methodology. Switzerland initially

prepared a country background report. An OECD team then made two visits
to Switzerland on 26 - 29 April and 14 - 17 June 2011, where they discussed
the issues arising with a very wide range of stakeholders.
The structure of the report
This first chapter places the review of Switzerland in the context of the
wider OECD study, presents the structure of the report, describes the main
features of the Swiss postsecondary VET system, and compares its main
features with those of other countries. It also sets out a number of key
statistical indicators comparing Switzerland with other OECD countries.
These cover both the education system and the labour market, including the
changing mix of occupations in the labour market. It also provides an
appreciation of the main strengths of the system, and briefly outlines the
challenges to be addressed in the second chapter.
The second chapter advances policy recommendations, set out as:
• The challenge – the problem that gives rise to the recommendation.
• The recommendation – the text of the recommendation.
• The supporting arguments – the evidence that supports the
recommendation.
A snapshot of the system
In Switzerland, the Professional Education and Training (PET)1 system

makes a substantial contribution to workforce skills. Of those graduating
from tertiary programmes in 2009, nearly 40% were from the PET sector
(BFS, 2010a), and 20% of the Swiss labour force held a PET degree in 2009
(at tertiary B level) equalling the proportion of tertiary A degree holders
(BFS, 2009).2 Different pathways lead to PET qualifications. Although there
are some exceptions – such as healthcare in the professional colleges, and
the police force and fire service for examinations, the PET system is
primarily designed for those already working in a profession who want a
higher level of qualification rather than to facilitate initial entry to a
profession.
The PET sector consists of two main sub-sectors. First, there are
professional college (höhere Fachschulen) programmes. Second, national
PET examinations include the Federal Diploma Examination
(Eidgenössische Berufsprüfung) and the Advanced Federal Diploma
Examination (höhere Fachprüfung).3 Advanced Federal Diplomas represent
a higher professional level than Federal Diplomas, but in many professions
only one kind of PET Diploma can be obtained (see Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1 The Swiss education system
Source: OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology) (2012),
Facts and Figures. Vocational and Professional Education and Training in Switzerland.
In 2011, there were 52 professional college degree programmes

covering diverse professional areas such as engineering, healthcare, and arts
and design. Full-time professional college degree programmes last at least
two years and part-time programmes at least three (SKBF, 2011). In
full-time programmes about one fifth of the study time is devoted to
workplace traineeships, while part-time students normally work in a job
closely related to their study programme (and indeed are often required to do
so). About half of all professional college degrees issued in 2009 were
obtained following completion of part-time studies; most of the degrees
earned in full-time education were issued in healthcare (in the other
professions less than one third of the degrees were earned through full-time
studies) (BFS, 2010b).
Of the 400 national PET examinations available in 2011, 240 lead to a
Federal PET Diploma, while 160 lead to an Advanced Federal PET
Diploma. The number and content of examinations change regularly as

labour market organisations adjust the examinations to changing needs;
typically 60-100 examination rules are under revision at any point in time.
Students typically take part in a preparatory course (vorbereitender Kurs)
for a national PET examination even though participation is in principle not
mandatory and degrees are awarded exclusively on the basis of exam
performance. Preparatory courses are much more diverse than professional
college degree courses and they are largely unregulated. Few statistics
encompass the whole sector, but in the preparatory courses registered by
BFS, only 7% of students followed a full-time course (BFS, 2010b).
Preparatory courses can take from a few months to two to three years.
Course format reflects student demand, it often means weekend or evening
classes and distance learning.
The Swiss Advanced Federal PET Examination reflects the classical
progression from apprenticeship to Meister level, enabling the examinees to
show their capacity to carry out their profession independently, run their
own business, and train apprentices. But the scope of this examination type
has now widened to include other non-technical professions, in the
commercial, manufacturing, agricultural, and service related sectors. The
examinations fulfil the need to certify specific professional competencies
needed for instance in legally regulated areas to act as an entry point to the
service sector and to be used as a human resources development tool.
The governance of the PET system rests on a partnership between the
federal and cantonal governments and labour market organisations which
include employer organisations, professional associations, and trade unions.
The federal government, through the Federal Office for Professional
Education and Technology, OPET (Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und
Technologie, BBT) provides strategic planning and development and ensures
quality. It approves rules for professional examinations and recognises
professional college degree programmes by approving the core curricula.
The federal certification process ensures that there is no overlap between
examinations and that the stakeholders reach a consensus regarding course
content without extensive government intervention. The cantons are
responsible for supervising professional college degree programmes and in
some (infrequent) cases they also supervise preparatory courses.4 A new law
in preparation regarding continuing education (Weiterbildungsgesetz des
Bundes, WeBiG.) is expected to enhance the cantons’ responsibilities.
Switzerland’s PET programmes are funded from a mix of public and
private sources. The federal government and the cantons cover 70% of
professional colleges’ costs on average (mainly in support of healthcare and
other professions where the state is the main employer) and, according to a
2006 estimate, 15-18% of the direct costs of examinations and preparatory
courses (PwC, 2009). Other costs fall on students and employers; three
quarters of PET students receive employer support for their studies (BASS,
2009). Labour market organisations provide some limited support through
grants and training providers. Cantons receive a lump sum from the federal
government based on the number of VET (but not PET) students in each
canton which they are free to divide between VET and PET. The funding of
inter-cantonal mobility of PET students is currently based on a very
complex network of bilateral agreements between cantons mainly covering
professional colleges and only rarely preparatory courses. A new
inter-cantonal concordat is planned to replace the current system.
While the focus of the review is on the PET (tertiary B) system, the
academic tertiary A system is an important part of the context. The Swiss
tertiary A sector includes universities and Federal Institutes of Technology
(referred to as universities throughout this report) on the one hand and
Universities of Applied Science (Fachhochschulen) (UASs) on the other.
The UAS sector was originally created by transforming some professional
colleges and their training programmes and reclassifying them as tertiary A
education. The UAS sector has grown fast, reflecting a combination of real
growth, and some element of reclassification. There are guidelines for UASs
on admitting PET graduates to their bachelors’ degree programmes and on
transferring credits from PET to UASs (Konferenz der Fachhochschulen der
Schweiz, 2006). Admittance of PET graduates to universities is regulated by
the university departments themselves.
The system in international context
The professional examinations

While the professional examinations have some uniquely Swiss
characteristics, they can be compared with examination systems in some
other countries. Annex A compares the Swiss advanced federal PET
examination with the somewhat similar arrangements in Germany and
Austria. While both in Germany and in Austria the examinations of master
craftsman exist, in the non-technical sector comparable qualifications are not
as visible as in Switzerland. Within the Swiss VET system, all examinees of
the Advanced Federal PET Examination receive the uniform designation
“with Advanced Federal PET Diploma” (mit eidgenoessischem Diplom). In
Germany and Austria however, candidates in the regulated non-crafts
sectors may pass a German “advanced vocational examination”
(Fortbildungsprüfung) or the Austrian “qualifying examination”
(Befähigungsprüfung) but in neither case would they be awarded a
nationally recognised title.
In the United States there are a large number of industry organised

postsecondary vocational qualifications but unlike Switzerland, they are not
subject to government regulation, and indeed they are not formally recorded
statistically as part of the education and training system.5 Annex B compares
three examples of Swiss Advanced Federal PET Examinations with
equivalent US vocational qualifications. While in Switzerland the
qualification of a Financial Expert with Advanced Federal PET Diploma
remains vocational and non-academic, in the US, in order to become a
Certified Financial Planner (CFP) the examinee must obtain a bachelor’s
degree either before or after the certifying examination. In both Switzerland
and the US, working organisations are responsible for the examinations for
master plumbers and electricians within a national framework. While in
Switzerland there is only one organising body for each profession, in the US
there are numerous non-state organisations in charge of vocational licensing
and certifying examinations.
The professional colleges

Professional colleges also find parallels in other countries. The table in
Annex D compares the Swiss professional colleges with a selected set of
OECD countries based on material available online in English, French, and
German (vocationally oriented tertiary A institutions and programmes such
as UASs are excluded). Switzerland’s professional college sector covers the
whole spectrum of economic activities while many parallel arrangements
serve only some economic sectors (excluding, for example, mining and
education in Germany and Denmark). Courses shorter than two years are
rare in Switzerland, but common for example in the USA). Entry conditions
to professional colleges are also relatively stringent as they not only
stipulate secondary vocational qualifications, but also work experience;
similar arrangements are found in Austria, Germany, but relatively few other
countries. The entry into academic higher education of professional college
graduates is mainly left to the discretion of institutions themselves which is
different from the OECD countries analysed here.
Key international indicators
Comparisons of a statistical indicator for any one country with the

OECD average are useful, but must always be interpreted with caution. Few
indicators are unequivocally positive in one direction, and, there can be no
presumption that convergence with the average is desirable.
Indicators of education and training

In Switzerland tertiary graduation rates (a measure of the proportion of a
population cohort gaining tertiary qualifications) have been rising. Tertiary
B graduation rates reached 19% in 2008 – more than double the OECD
average – and up from 14% in 2000 (OECD, 2010a) reflecting the much
greater importance of this sector in Switzerland than in many other
countries. But at the same time the tertiary A graduation rate more than
doubled from 12% in 2000 to 32% in 2008 – still below but approaching the
OECD average of 38%.
In fact, much, but not all of this growth reflects the reclassification and
transformation of some professional colleges to fit Bologna requirements
(BFS, 2011a). The UAS sector continues to grow rapidly compared to the
modest increase in student numbers at universities. After separating out the
professional colleges which were moved into tertiary A and the healthcare
professions whose classification is problematic (BFS, 2011a), it is apparent
that the UAS sector has experienced a sharp expansion over and above the
previous growth trend in professional colleges which formed the basis of
UAS. In addition, professional colleges which remained in the vocational
sector experienced little growth since the introduction of UAS (see
Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2 Number of graduates per year in professional colleges and UAS,
1980-2010, without healthcare professions
16 000
14 000
Professional colleges
12 000
"A" (moved into UAS)
UAS
10 000
Professional colleges
"B" (stayed in PET)
All Professional colleges
8 000
Total professional
colleges and UAS
6 000
4 000
2 000
Source: BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2011b), Abschlüsse der höheren Berufsbildung:
eine statistische Bestandesaufnahme, BFS, Neuchâtel.
Switzerland is characterised by a high level of continued adult

participation in education and training – at least for those who have
completed upper secondary education. More than half of men and women
aged 25-64 reported taking part in some formal or non-formal education in
the previous year (see Figure 1.3). Patterns of participation in formal and
non-formal training in Switzerland resemble international patterns as
employed persons, particularly those working full-time and those with
higher level qualifications are much more likely to participate.
Figure 1.3 Adults’ participation in formal and/or non-formal education,

by educational attainment
Participation rate of the 25-64-year-old population, 2007
All levels of education

Tertiary education
Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education
Below upper secondary education
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Korea
Slovenia
Australia
Greece
Spain
Portugal
Sweden1
Norway
Germany
Netherlands3
Austria
France2
Denmark3
Finland2
Italy2
Estonia
Czech Republic3
Poland2
Hungary2
United Kingdom2
Canada3
Belgium3
Slovak Republic
Switzerland
OECD average
New Zealand2
United States1
Notes: 1. reference year 2005; 2. reference year 2006; 3. reference year 2008. Countries
are ranked in descending order of participation in formal and/or non-formal education,
for all levels of education.
Source: OECD (2010a), Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators, Table A5.1b,
OECD Publishing. doi:. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2010 en,
(www.oecd.org/edu/eag2010).
Men with PET (tertiary B) qualifications in Switzerland earn about one

quarter more than average in Switzerland (similarly to tertiary B qualified
men in other countries), while women with PET qualifications do rather
better. Despite the rapidly growing supply of tertiary graduates, the earnings
gains from tertiary education overall remain substantial, particularly for
women (see OECD, 2010a, Table A.7.2b) although not as large as in some
countries – so there is little evidence of any over-supply of tertiary graduates
(academic and vocational combined). Specific evidence on rates of return of
PET shows that returns to PET are high and are between returns to UAS and
university education (Wolter and Weber, 2005). Overall returns to
professional college degrees are significantly higher than returns to
professional examinations while returns to a year of education are of similar
magnitude (professional college degree programmes typically take much
longer than preparation to professional exams (Cattaneo, 2011).
Public expenditure on educational institutions per student is quite high
in tertiary A education by international standards in Switzerland (at around
50% of GDP per capita – compared with an OECD average of around 40%),
but it is the lowest among OECD countries in the PET system (in 2008 at
11% compared with an OECD average of 23%) (see Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.4 Annual expenditure by educational institutions per student for
all services relative to GDP per capita (2008)
By level of education, based on full-time equivalents
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Korea
Austria
Netherlands
Japan
Sweden
Australia
Israel
France
Italy
Switzerland
Spain
Poland
Canada
Chile
OECD average
Hungary
Germany
Czech Republic
New Zealand
Post-secondary non-tertiary education Tertiary-type B education Tertiary-type A

and advanced research programmes
Source: OECD (2011a), Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, OECD

Publishing. doi: http://dx.doi: 10.1787/eag-2011-en
Labour market indicators

Most indicators suggest that overall the transition from school to work
in Switzerland is relatively smooth, with a comparatively small proportion
of the 20 – 24 year old cohort not in education or unemployed. At the same
time there are some indications of skills mismatches for young tertiary
educated males in Switzerland, with 27% of 25-29 year olds not in
education but with tertiary qualifications working at skill levels 1 or 2, more
than the OECD average of 23% (OECD, 2011a).
The Swiss labour market is relatively deregulated, with relatively weak
employment protection for workers. Employment protection is important for
training policy because it may represent a barrier to the recruitment for
untrained workers – since it reduces the employer’s willingness to recruit
untrained workers and train them on the job.
Table 1.1 The Swiss labour market
2000 2009 2010 2010

Unit OECD Total
Unemployment rate % of labour 2.7 4.2 4.4 8.5
force
Youth unemployment rate % of youth 4.9 8.4 7.2 16.7

labour force
(15-24)
Long-term unemployment % of total 29 30.1 34.3 32.4

(12 months and over) unemployment
Employment rate of women % of female 69.4 73.6 72.3 56.7

population
(15-64)
Part-time employment % of total 24.4 26.5 26.3 16.6
employment
Growth of real GDP % change from 3.6 -1.9 2.6 2.9

previous year
Source: OECD (2011b), “OECD Economic Outlook No. 89”, OECD Economic Outlook:
Statistics and Projections (database). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/data-00539-en
Previous OECD recommendations
The 2009 OECD economic survey of Switzerland argued that tertiary

participation rates could usefully be increased, in view of labour market
demand (OECD, 2009). It also argued, that on grounds of both efficiency
and equity, tuition fees in tertiary academic education should be raised, and
government-sponsored loans to students in tertiary education (including
vocational tertiary) should be made widely available, coupled with
income-contingent repayments. In addition to standard arguments for this
means of funding tertiary education, the survey also points out that in
Switzerland higher fees would also reduce the potential distortions arising
from reliance on cantonal support since cantons may be unwilling to support
tertiary studies where the benefits are national rather than local (OECD,
2011c, 2009). The recent OECD report Economic Policy Reforms 2011:
Going for Growth (OECD, 2011d) reiterated the recommendation, arguing
that limited loans for tertiary studies, especially for the parts of the PET
system where high study fees limit access. The same report proposed reform
of the Swiss tax system to improve work incentives and labour force
participation among women.
The Learning for Jobs OECD review of vocational education and
training in Switzerland (Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009) commented on the
many strengths of the Swiss VET/PET system, including the range of
offerings in the PET system, its quality, and responsiveness to labour market
needs. At the same time it noted some emerging challenges. These include
competition between vocational and “academic” tertiary education in
universities and UASs, perhaps intensified by demographic decline in the
numbers of young people. Multinational companies with limited experience
of the Swiss VET/PET system may add to the threat. The OECD (2008)
review of systemic innovation in the Swiss VET system reported on three
innovations – VET case management, the reform of basic commercial
training and the “Leading Houses” system of research on VET.
The OECD’s 2003 review of tertiary education in Switzerland (OECD,
2003), among other matters, recommended:
• Greater permeability in access routes and qualifications. First-year
studies in the universities should be made more flexible, providing
support for students with vocational baccalaureates.
• Upgrading and integration of teacher training and health education
(among other parts of higher vocational training) in the universities
of applied sciences.
• Boosting information and guidance for prospective tertiary

education students and their parents.
The latest OECD economic forecast for Switzerland predicts continued
economic growth in 2012, but it is expected to slow down due to the strong
franc and dampening global demand. As a result a slight increase in
unemployment is predicted (OECD, 2011e).
Appreciation of the Swiss approach to postsecondary VET – key

strengths
Employers and professional associations are engaged with and

actively contribute to PET. The system is highly responsive to
labour market needs
Across OECD countries

Evidence shows that the engagement of social partners – both
employers, unions, and professional associations is necessary to ensure that
the organisation and the content of vocational programs meets the needs of
employers, the wider economy and students (OECD, 2010b). Social partner
engagement is also crucial both for national level policy development and to
ensure adequate policy implementation. However, in many countries it is
hard to engage employers, unions, and professional associations in the
vocational education and training system. This is particularly true in
countries without strong apprenticeship traditions.
In Switzerland
Labour market actors are remarkably well integrated into the PET
system. The qualifications offered are largely determined by labour market
associations, with employer and professional organisations largely defining
the content of professional examinations as well as professional college
degree programmes. Content is determined by bringing together different
employers in order to build consensus on a professional profile (OPET,
2007). Most employers also actively support their employees during their
PET studies financially, non-financially, or both (BASS, 2009). Some
employer associations provide grants to PET students in need while others
run professional colleges and manage providers of preparatory courses in
order to assure themselves of high quality provision.
The responsiveness of the Swiss PET to labour market needs depends,
among other factors, on the way in which many working students pursue
their studies with the full support of existing employers. Most PET students
have extensive work experience and work alongside a linked programme of

PET study. The professional profiles which underpin examinations are
regularly reviewed in order to ensure that they remain relevant. The review
typically takes between 6 to 12 months, a relatively swift and unbureaucratic
process.
Policy development has a strong institutional leadership in OPET

Across countries VET policy development offers particular challenges
because of the wide range of different stakeholders involved, and this is
further complicated in federal and decentralised countries (such as
Switzerland) where much responsibility for VET is held locally or
regionally. (For a discussion of how this issue is tackled in Australia, see
Hoeckel et al., 2008.) Some degree of consensus among the different
stakeholders is important, but needs to be balanced by effective leadership to
ensure that consensus does not become a formula for inertia, with a
multiplicity of stakeholders each holding an effective veto on necessary
reforms.
In Switzerland
In contrast to other fields of education in Switzerland, PET is mainly
steered on the federal level. The federal body responsible, OPET carefully
manages a partnership with labour market organisations and the relationship
with training providers, engages in constant dialogue with stakeholders and
provides strategic leadership. Its latest effort in facilitating peer learning
among professional examiners and managers as well as among professional
colleges are good examples of initiating systemic level improvement
without excessive state intervention. Cantons, while preserving their
autonomy, effectively complement OPET’s work, for example, by carrying
out regular inspection of PET providers.
The system offers a flexible and effective response to diverse student

requirements

Responding to changing student demand has been at the centre of
attention in a range of OECD countries (Jenkins, 2011). Working adult
students require a different approach when compared with students at the
initial stages of education and training. This has led to a range of
innovations across OECD countries such as developing courses relying

heavily on online and self-directed learning.
In Switzerland
Many PET students, particularly those preparing for federal diplomas,
work full-time alongside their studies and often have family and other
private obligations (BFS, 2011b; BASS, 2009). Roughly one third of PET
students study in a canton different from their home canton (OPET, 2008)
travelling to their place of study.6 Thus, students have diverse needs in terms
of course format and study methods such as evening and weekend courses,
distance learning, and block seminars. As far as the OECD review team
could discern from their visit, PET provision adjusts well to these needs.
Pedagogical practices and study modes are diverse, including traditional
school-based pedagogy, distance learning and personal consultation.
Students interviewed were supportive of these arrangements and were
generally convinced that potential students would be able to find the type of
provision best suited to their needs. While interruptions of studies are
frequent due to the combined burden of studies, work, and private life,
return to studies is facilitated by the modular structure of PET studies
available in most programmes.
Work-based learning is well integrated into PET programmes

Good quality work-based learning is a very important part of effective
vocational programmes, and in some countries it is inadequate (OECD,
2010b). It provides a strong learning environment, it can improve transition
from school to work by allowing employers and potential employees to get
to know each other, it contributes to the output of the training firm, and it
links training provision to a direct expression of employer needs. However,
to reap these benefits, the placement has to be of high quality and integrated
into the VET curriculum. In the absence of quality control and links between
the curriculum and the workplace, workplace training is likely to degenerate
into cheap labour, or involve very narrow and firm-specific skills (OECD,
2010b).
In Switzerland
The work-based component of PET studies is realised either through an
internship or a regular job. Internships are typically for full-time students,
mainly in professional colleges, where they form an integral part of the
programme. Part-time students typically continue to work in regular jobs
alongside their PET studies but in this case, the student’s work has to be
related to PET studies. Students commonly have to try out techniques and
apply concepts learned in the study programme at the workplace.
Subsequently, they report back on their experiences which are discussed at
the study programme to improve and solidify the learning experience. These
ways of integrating work-based learning into PET studies are effective in the
view of most stakeholders.
The professional exams effectively link upskilling to recognition of

prior learning

Recognition of prior learning is a key component in many OECD
countries’ system for upskilling their labour force, making competences
(often acquired informally) more transparent to employers, students, and
education institutions (OECD, 2007). Despite these theoretical efficiencies,
professional educators are sometimes reluctant to accept that the
competences they teach can be acquired informally, education institutions
sometimes have inadequate financial incentives to recognise prior learning,
while employers may not always see advantage in making skills of their own
employees more visible to competing firms.
In Switzerland
Since the professional exams are competency based and closely related
to actual workplace practice, skills learnt on the job can be granted
recognition through the examination. Many students at preparatory courses
only attend some of the course modules depending on their prior experience
and knowledge. The combination of flexible course provision and
competency-based exams allows prior learning to be recognised, augmented
by targeted provision of additional skills, according to the needs of the
individual student.
The PET system is well articulated with upper secondary VET

Upper secondary vocational tracks in some countries can be dead ends,
with no or highly constricted opportunities for further upskilling – both a
waste of potential for those held back and a threat to the status of the entire
vocational track, since some able students will not enter upper secondary
VET if by doing so they lock themselves out of further education
opportunities. When students choose among different vocational and
academic tracks future upskilling opportunities influence their decision

(Ordovensky, 1995). So a clear route of upward mobility is essential to a
high status VET track.
In Switzerland
In Switzerland, progression from upper secondary VET to PET is a clear
and well-regulated pathway, allowing graduate apprentices both to deepen
their professional knowledge and to acquire general entrepreneurship and
leadership skills, supporting promotion into management positions or
independent professional roles. Such good articulation helps to maintain the
high status of the vocational track as PET graduates can often compete for
the same jobs as graduates of UAS or universities and often come to fill
senior management positions.
Teachers and trainers in professional colleges are well prepared

As in general education, the quality of the teaching and training
profession is the most critical element to effective learning in vocational
programmes (OECD, 2010b). A number of OECD countries are facing
challenges in recruiting and retaining high quality vocational teachers who
are not only adequately prepared pedagogically, but are also experienced
and up-to-date in their professional field. This challenge is often met by
relying on part-time working arrangements and directly recruiting
practitioners from industry.
In Switzerland
As in upper secondary VET, teachers and trainers in professional
colleges are well prepared both in their profession and pedagogically
(Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009). The Swiss Federal Institute for
Vocational Education and Training, SFIVET (Eidgenössisches
Hochschulinstitut für Berufsbildung, EHB) provides basic and continuing
training to examiners and college teachers. They are required to have a
professional college degree, or a higher education degree or an equivalent
qualification in their chosen field and both full and part-time teachers are
required to pursue a vocational pedagogy programme (OPET, 2011). The
supply of well-trained teachers and trainers is underpinned by the high
prestige of teaching in a professional college and flexible arrangements to
blend work in the profession with teaching. Such part-time teaching
arrangements not only allow teachers to keep their job in industry, but also
ensures that professional colleges’ curricula reflect up-to-date industry
requirements (individual teachers typically develop their own curricula

within the framework of the certified curriculum of their college).
International recognition can build on the success of some high

profile areas

Countries with considerable postsecondary VET systems, especially
smaller countries, face the challenge of international recognition for their
programmes. This is mainly due to the fact that compared to internationally
well recognised tertiary A programmes leading to bachelors and masters
qualifications, postsecondary VET programmes are often less well known
and structured in country-specific ways. Hence, international companies find
it more difficult to value postsecondary VET degrees and graduates of
postsecondary VET may find it hard to achieve recognition in countries
other than their own.
In Switzerland
Some individual PET programmes have already built international
reputations - the professional colleges in hotel and tourism management are
one obvious example. Some Swiss professional colleges offer degree
programmes jointly with a foreign partner, requiring students to spend time
in both institutions (see for example IST, 2011). While these examples are
unique in several respects, they signal that it is possible to achieve a high
international reputation within the PET system. This can be successfully
advanced by opening up to foreign students, companies operating abroad
and international collaborations.
Challenges
Despite all the manifest strengths of the Swiss PET system, there
remain, inevitably, some significant challenges. These challenges, (set out
below in summary), and what might be done to address them forms the
subject of the next chapter.
• There are some potential financial and non-financial barriers to
access to PET, and government financial support may be biased
towards academic tertiary education.
• In contrast to most other sectors of education and training,
inter-cantonal arrangements for funding PET are haphazard, leading
to confusion, unfairness and inefficiency.
• Information on the quality and costs of PET courses is inadequate,

and there are quality weaknesses in some areas.
• Globalisation is putting a number of different pressures on the Swiss
PET system, intensifying the need for international recognition of
Swiss PET qualifications and demanding new higher level and
sometimes globally defined competencies as part of many jobs.
• Numeracy and literacy are of increasing importance in professional
occupations, and the PET system, alongside other parts of the Swiss
education system need to address them more effectively.
Notes
1. The specific Swiss terms used are Höhere Berufsbildung in German,

Formation Professionnelle Supérieure in French, and Formazione
Professionale Superiore in Italian.
2. The 3% of the Swiss labour force held in 2009 both tertiary A and B
qualifications hence this group is counted both as tertiary A and B
diploma holder (BFS, 2009).
3. These lead to two different corresponding degrees: the Federal PET
Diploma (eidgenössischer Fachausweis) and the Advanced Federal PET
Diploma (eidgenössisches Diplom).
4. Cantonal supervision of preparatory courses takes place when cantons
finance some of the training costs.
5. Although recently the National Center for Education Statistics has
launched an initiative to remedy this.
6. In addition, students may also travel to their city of study within their
canton of residence.
References
BASS (Büro für Arbeits- und Sozialpolitische Studien) (2009), Finanzflüsse

in der höheren Berufsbildung – Eine Analyse aus der Sicht der
Studierenden, OPET, Bern.
BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2009), Personen mit einem Abschluss der
höheren Berufsbildung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2010a), Bildungsabschlüsse 2009, Sekundarstufe II und Tertiärstufe.
BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2010b), Diplomstatistik 2009, Höhere Berufsbildung: Höhere
Fachschulen HF, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011a), Abschlüsse der höheren Berufsbildung: eine statistische
Bestandesaufnahme, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011b), Abschlüsse der höheren Berufsbildung: eine statistische
Bestandesaufnahme, BFS, Neuchâtel.
Cattaneo, M. A. (2011), “New Estimation of Private Returns to Higher
Professional Education and Training”. Empirical Research in Vocational
Education and Training, Vol. 3, No. 2.
Hoeckel, K., S. Field and W.N. Grubb (2009), OECD Reviews of Vocational
Education and Training: A Learning for Jobs Review of Switzerland
2009, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, OECD
Publishing. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264113985-en
Hoeckel, K., et al. (2008), OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and
Training: A Learning for Jobs Review of Australia 2008, OECD Reviews
of Vocational Education and Training, OECD Publishing.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264113596-en
IST (International School of Tourism Management) (2011), International
School of Tourism Management website, www.ist-
zurich.ch/international-tourism-management.html, accessed 2011.
Jenkins, B. (2011), Skills Beyond School: Access and Drop Out, background
document for the Meeting of the Group of National Experts on
Vocational Education and Training, 3-4 October 2011, Paris,

EDU/EDPC/VET/RD(2011)1.
Konferenz der Fachhochschulen der Schweiz (2006), Empfehlungen:
Zulassung von Absolvent/innen der Höheren Berufsbildung zu Bachelor-
Studiengängen, Bern: Konferenz der Fachhochschulen der Schweiz.
OECD (2003), Reviews of National Policies for Education: Tertiary
Education in Switzerland 2003, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2007), Qualifications Systems: Bridges to Lifelong Learning,
Education and Training Policy, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2008), Systemic Innovation in the Swiss VET System: Country Case
Study Report, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2009), OECD Economic Surveys: Switzerland 2009, OECD
Publishing. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eco_surveys-che-2009-en
OECD (2010a), Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators, OECD
Publishing. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2010-en
OECD (2010b), Learning for Jobs, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education
and Training, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2011b), “OECD Economic Outlook No. 89”, OECD Economic
Outlook: Statistics and Projections (database).
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/data-00539-en
OECD (2011c), OECD Territorial Reviews: Switzerland 2011, OECD
OECD (2011d), Economic Policy Reforms 2011: Going for Growth, OECD
Publishing. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/growth-2011-en
OECD (2011e), “OECD Economic Outlook No. 90”, OECD Economic
Outlook: Statistics and Projections (database).
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/data-00588-en
OECD (2012), Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives: A Strategic Approach
to Skills Policies, OECD Publishing.
OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology) (2007),

Leitfaden für das Einreichen von neuen oder revidierten
Prüfungsordnungen, OPET, Bern.
OPET (2008), Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe Masterplan zur interkantonalen
Finanzierung der höheren Berufsbildung, OPET, Bern.
OPET (2011), Facts and Figures. Vocational and Professional Education
and Training in Switzerland.
OPET (2012), Facts and Figures. Vocational and Professional Education
and Training in Switzerland.
Ordovensky, J.F. (1995), “Effects of Institutional Attributes on Enrollment
Choice: Implications for Postsecondary Vocational Education”.
Economics of Education Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 335-350.
PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers AG) (2009), Analyse der Finanzflüsse in der
höheren Berufsbildung, OPET, Bern.
SKBF (Swiss Coordination Centre for Research in Education) (2011), Swiss
Education Report, 2010, SKBF , Aarau.
Wolter, S. C. and B. Weber (2005), “Bildungsrendite – ein zentraler
ökonomischer Indikator des Bildungswesens“, Die Volkswirtschaft (10),
pp. 44-47.
2. ENSURING FINANCE IS NO BARRIER TO PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING – 33
Chapter 2
Ensuring finance is no barrier to professional education

and training
Financial barriers and disincentives could be limiting access to professional

education and training (PET). The up-front monetary and non-monetary
costs of PET programmes could present a barrier to some potential students
who would otherwise benefit. Following previous OECD recommendations,
the report recommends a pilot to explore whether fuller government loans
and grants would help to remove potential access barriers to PET.
34 – 2. ENSURING FINANCE IS NO BARRIER TO PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Challenge
In Switzerland, financial barriers and disincentives could be preventing

access to PET. First, the up-front monetary and non-monetary costs of PET
programmes could present a barrier to some potential students who would
otherwise benefit. Second, PET is more expensive in general than academic
tertiary education, which receives higher levels of public subsidy. This could
hamper PET from competing for future students.
The high up-front costs and time requirements of PET present an

access barrier
The average direct cost of PET programmes was estimated to be
CHF 4 300 per semester in 2008, not including exam costs1 for those taking
professional exams (BASS, 2009).2 Tuition fees represent just over half the
cost, with textbooks, travel, and subsistence and accommodation making up
the remainder (see Figure 2.1). As many courses take place in a city
different than the residence of the student, travelling and accommodation
costs are relatively high. Average cost figures mask large variations. In
professional colleges for healthcare professions, for example, there is
typically no tuition fee and students receive a monthly remuneration which
was as much as CHF 1 200-1 500 per month in 2010. At the other end of the
spectrum, in professional colleges for catering-hoteling (available only as
full-time studies) and for the advanced federal diploma in business the total
cost per semester ranged between CHF 7-8000 in 2008 with a tuition fee of
up to CHF 4-5000 per semester. These estimates come from the only study
which reports on the financial burden of PET students in professional
colleges as well as preparatory courses (BASS, 2009). The median monthly
gross salary of employees with 5-9 years of experience was CHF 5 900 in
2008 (BFS, 2011c), so the most expensive hoteling and business training
costs amounted to about 13-15% of the average yearly net salary (OECD,
2009).3
Employers and government bear some of these costs alongside
students.4 In 2008 only 23% of PET students received no financial or other
help from their employers (BASS, 2009). Employers often contribute
directly towards tuition fees and exam costs or grant paid leave for their
employees to attend courses. Some cantons offer grants and loans for PET
students. Course fees may be subtracted from taxable income, and the
maximum amount of deduction is likely to be increased soon to CHF 12 000
(Ständerat, 2011).
Figure 2.1 Average costs of study for students in PET, per semester, CHF, 2008
(without exam costs)
9 000
8 000
7 000
Travel costs
6 000
Accommodation,
5 000 Subsistance
Material, Literature
4 000
Tuition fees
3 000
2 000
1 000
Source: BASS (Büro für Arbeits- und Sozialpolitische Studien) (2009), Finanzflüsse in
der höheren Berufsbildung – Eine Analyse aus der Sicht der Studierenden, OPET, Bern.
Notes: * 10-29 observations (un-weighted data).

PC = Professional College; FDE = Federal Diploma Examination; AFDE = Advanced
Federal Diploma Examination.
Several persons interviewed during the OECD’s visit said that the costs
of PET could prevent some employees from participating, but numbers so
deterred are hard to estimate given the absence of any survey data on such
individuals.5
The time and effort spent on studying and attending courses could also
represent a barrier, especially for those in part-time arrangements.6 On
average, part-time students spend 19 hours a week on their PET studies,
including instruction time, preparation, homework and exams (BASS, 2009)
on top of regular working hours of about 35 hours per week on average.
PET students therefore often have to work late hours and at weekends. The
variability of workload across professions and between professional colleges
and preparatory courses is large. For example, in professional colleges for
technical professions the weekly educational workload exceeds 25 hours,
while in preparatory courses in business it is only 15 hours. The demanding
workload of PET is particularly challenging for those like lone parents with
heavy family commitments and for those required to work long hours.
Poorly paid employees, with unsupportive employers may face particular
challenges. Male workers and Swiss nationals are more likely to hold a PET
degree all else being equal (Cattaneo, 2011). The burdens are somewhat
eased by flexible forms of provision with a wide range of evening and
weekend courses available, minimising disruption to work and home life,
while the modular character of most PET courses allows for interruptions
without losing credit for what has already been completed.
Even if the financial costs and other burdens do not prevent entry to
PET, they could cause drop-out. In academic years 2006 and 2007, the
drop-out rate from PET courses was 11% (11 students out of 100 who
started the first semester did not reach the final semester) while the failure
rate at the final examinations was 13% (13 students out of 100 who signed
up for the final exam failed the exam) (BASS, 2009). This implies that
overall, 26% of the students who started PET in 2006 and 2007 did not
obtain a degree by the end of their regular education path [0.74 = (1-0.11)
*(1-0.04)*(1-0.13)].7 While the drop-out rate is higher for professional
colleges than preparatory courses, the failure rate at the final exam is higher
for professional exams. For reference, the completion rate in Swiss tertiary
A education was 72% in 2008 – implying a relatively similar or slightly
higher level of drop-out than in PET courses (OECD, 2010a). Both students
and training providers cite the time and financial demands as major reasons
for drop-out and course interruption; personal reasons, too high professional
requirements, and missing competences are also factors (BASS, 2009). It is
extremely hard to compare drop-out rates internationally, but data compiled
by Jenkins (2011) suggest that drop-out in the Swiss PET system appears to
be relatively high in comparison with other selective systems.8
The high returns on investment in PET (Wolter and Weber, 2005), while
underlining the labour market value of PET qualifications, could also signal
an inadequate supply of PET skills. (Although it is worth noting that the
same studies showed high returns from university qualifications – so the
factors involved could go wider than just PET). Several interviewees
pointed to acute shortages of PET graduates in fields such as information
technology (which might be partially due to high growth over the last
decade). Enterprise surveys also suggest difficulties in hiring of tertiary,
particularly tertiary vocational graduates, in financial intermediation,
transport and communication as well as information technology (Fuentes,
2011). Some of these skills shortages are already visible at the level of upper
secondary VET qualifications, with knock-on effects on the PET level
labour market.
PET receives comparatively less public funding than academic

tertiary education
Overall, there is a sizeable difference in public spending between
vocational and academic tertiary education (OECD, 2009; Hoeckel, Field
and Grubb, 2009) (Table 2.1). In professional colleges the proportion of
full-time students is relatively high (36%) and concentrated in a few
well-supported professions such as health care (BFS, 2011a); but the
majority of students study part-time and receive only a small amount of
public funding.
Table 2.1 Proportion of federal, cantonal, and private funding of tertiary

education, %, 2006-2009
PET1 UAS2 Universities2

Advanced
Professional Federal Federal
colleges PET PET
Diploma Diploma
2006 2009 2008 2007 2009 2008 2007
Federal
19 19 18 46 45 45
government 70 18 15
Cantons 61 61 62 38 39 40
Private 30 82 85 20 20 20 16 16 15
Note: 1. Source: PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers AG) (2009), Analyse der Finanzflüsse
in der höheren Berufsbildung, OPET, Bern.
Note: 2. Source: BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2011c), Tertiärstufe: Hochschulen.
Detaillierte Daten. Finanzen, BFS, Neuchâtel,
www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/15/06/data.html#Finanzen , accessed July
2011.
Given higher subsidies, fees in academic tertiary education are lower
than in PET. In 2010/2011, Swiss universities charged between CHF 1 000
and CHF 2 000 per year (un-weighted average: CHF 1 600) for Swiss
nationals and between CHF 1 000 and CHF 2 300 per year (un-weighted
average: CHF 2 000) for foreign students (Rektorenkonferenz der Schweizer
Universitäten, 2011).9 Fees are somewhat higher in UAS ranging between
CHF 1 000 and CHF 2 400 per year for domestic students (Rektorkonferenz
der Fachhochschulen der Schweiz, 2011).
PET students are eligible for the same grants and loans as their
counterparts in academic tertiary education. Only 3.3% of PET students
received cantonal financial support (grants, loans) in 2008 (BASS, 2009).
5.5% of all education grants went to students in PET and 48.8% to students
in academic tertiary education in 2009 (BFS, 2010). There are large
differences across cantons regarding grants as well as loans (for details see
BFS, 2011d). Less than 2% of students in UAS and universities receive
government-sponsored loans while overall 84% of tertiary students receive
no financial support from the government (OECD, 2009).
These funding differences between PET and academic tertiary education
have been extensively debated in Switzerland (OPET, 2011a). They have
historical roots, but they may also conflict with equity. Although PET
students are typically employed and therefore more able to cover up-front
costs than UAS and university students who often study full time; the
lifetime incomes of PET graduates are typically lower than those of
university and UAS graduates providing no clear reason for higher
proportion of private funding in PET (BFS, 2011e). They also bring high
fiscal returns to the public budget (Wolter and Weber, 2005).
Funding differences could in principle inhibit PET from successfully

competing for future students
PET students, in most cases, require extensive work experience in the
given field, UAS students typically need to have a vocational baccalaureate,
while university students have to pass the academic baccalaureate before
gaining entry (OPET, 2011a; Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009). On the face
of it PET does not therefore immediately compete with UASs and
universities for the same group of students, outside some business
professions such as Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in General
Management, Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in Business
Administration, or Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Human Capital
Management. But, looked at more strategically over the long term, PET
might compete with the UAS and university sector. School students make
their initial choice of different tracks partly with regard to future
opportunities and their comparative costs and benefits (Ordovensky, 1995).
The higher costs of PET may bias these decisions undesirably. Students
might face a choice especially between professional colleges and UASs,
hence there might be some form of competition between the two sectors as
indicated by Chapter 1: prior to the establishment of the UAS sector, the
professional college sector was expanding, but since the creation of the UAS
sector the professional college sector has been stable in size, while UAS
numbers continue to increase.
Recommendation
On a pilot basis, explore whether a loan and grant scheme would
remove an access barrier to participation in PET.
Supporting arguments
There are four arguments in support of this recommendation. First,
income-contingent loans and grant schemes have produced desirable
outcomes in a range of countries. Second, more even tuition costs across the
tertiary sector would allow for more level competition between PET, UASs
and universities as well as more equitable treatment of their students. Third,
it should also increase efficiency in tertiary education. Fourth, given some
potential downside risks, any loan and grant scheme could and should be
initially piloted in a small number of cantons.
Income-contingent loans and grants have been successfully

introduced in a number of countries
According to international evidence, government supported loans
covering both fees and maintenance help those who wish to enter tertiary
education. In particular, they address the efficiency problem that some
students who would benefit substantially from tertiary education cannot
afford the up-front costs. As repayments are contingent on future income,
more risk averse students would find the scheme attractive (OECD, 2009;
OECD, 2008, Chapter 4). Such risk-averse students are precisely those who,
in the absence of such loans, might be reluctant to take the risk of a large
investment in training with uncertain returns. Grants would cater for those
with very low incomes and show high aptitude. Income-contingent loans
and grants, potentially financed from tuition fees, could offset any potential
negative enrolment impact of fees in tertiary education on lower
socio-economic status students (OECD, 2008, Chapter 4).
Following an initial investment in income-contingent loans, depending
on the design of the scheme, only modest costs would fall on the
government. The system of loans and grants would be efficient as it would
be aimed at those who face an entry barrier, others would be less likely to
apply for a loan or qualify for a grant. By removing an access barrier which
is likely to bear most heavily on the most disadvantaged would also
contribute to improved social mobility and a more equitable society (OECD,
2008, Chapter 4).
More even tuition fees across the whole tertiary sector would allow
for fairer competition
Current funding differences between PET and academic tertiary
education bias choices towards academic pathways where there is short or
long run competition between academic and vocational courses.10 This is
particularly true when comparing full-time courses in vocational and
academic tertiary education, while this argument is more nuanced when

comparing part-time with full-time courses of different length.
The current differences could be removed either by increasing public
funding for PET or reducing public funding for academic tertiary education,
for example by increasing fees. The former would be undesirable due to its
high public expenditure costs and the need to preserve the leading role of
labour market organisations in the PET system. The latter option would
reduce public expenditure by substituting it with private financing. A
consistent funding arrangement across the whole tertiary sector should
reflect the public utility and private benefits of tertiary programmes rather
than the disposable financial resources of students (OECD, 2008,
Chapter 4).
The proposed reform package would increase efficiency in the whole

tertiary sector
In PET, competition across providers is limited not only by the high cost
of accommodation and travel but also by an inconsistent system of
inter-cantonal financing. A consistent Switzerland-wide support scheme to
pay fees and cover education related costs, would help students to make
efficient choices – opting for a more suitable or higher quality course away
from home if that would be a better long term option. Efficient choice would
also be assisted by consistent inter-cantonal arrangements, discussed below.
Any loan and grant scheme should initially be piloted

Precisely how these theoretical benefits would emerge in practice
requires further investigation, and might be set against the costs and other
disadvantages of a loan and grant scheme. A small number of cantons
implement a proposed new policy of loans and grants. Their experience
before and after the date of introduction of the experiment could be
compared with the experience of other control cantons before and after the
date of introduction. This would allow the costs and benefits of the scheme
to be assessed, including the effect on participation and completion of PET
programmes, and equity implications such as whether any particular social
groups would be particularly helped by the scheme.
Through such a pilot, the downside risks of grant or loan schemes could
also be assessed. Potentially, increased public funding of PET (either as
grants or loans) could crowd out some of the extensive and valuable private
financing which targets training on those most likely to benefit. This might
undesirably shift financing burdens away from enterprises to individuals
backed by government.11
If the pilot evaluation is sufficiently positive, the Switzerland-wide

implementation of an income-contingent loan and grant system would be
relatively unproblematic (following OECD, 2008, Chapter 4): income tax
evasion is low; the income tax collection system is well developed; public
funds for making the initial investment are available; financial markets are
well developed and have experience of similar loan schemes.
Notes
1. The average cost of examinations in 2006 was about CHF 1 700 and
CHF 2 500 for Federal and Advanced Federal PET Exams respectively
(PwC, 2009). A new regulation grants a uniform federal support for all
professional exams covering 25% of exam costs starting from January
2011 (OPET, 2011a).
2. The findings of the BASS (2009) study are based on a survey of students
and training providers in selected occupational fields where full sample
coverage was attempted. Hence, the study cannot be taken as
representative of the whole PET system. The results of a new
comprehensive survey which is currently under way are expected to be
published by the end of 2011 (OPET, 2011b).
3. Taxation of personal income varies among cantons.
4. Cantonal and federal governments cover much of the training costs
beyond the costs enumerated above from the viewpoint of the students.
An overview of financial flows in PET among training organisations and
government institutions are analysed in (PwC, 2009).
5. In order to fully understand the performance of PET and how well it
serves the Swiss economy and society detailed analysis would be
necessary which could reveal the main driving factors and obstacles to
entry, the number of those who face effective entry barriers and
potentially the amount of workers entering PET under different scenarios
(e.g. funding, entry conditions). Such study could exploit the existing
wide differences across sectors and geographical locations within
Switzerland.
6. Full-time students’ workload is not discussed in detail here as conflicts
among time spent on study, work, and family activities are less likely to
arise.
7. “1-0.11”: proportion of those not dropping out from a PET course; “1-
0.04”: proportion of those who did not sign up for the exam even though
they attended the last semester of their training; “1-0.13”: proportion of
those who passed the exam they signed up for.
8. In this context, open access means that countries offer automatic access to
postsecondary VET to holders of secondary school leaving certificate.
Switzerland is considered a country with selective entry conditions as
relevant secondary VET degree and a certain amount of work experience
is required for postsecondary VET entry in most professions.
9. There is one outlier university in terms of fees charged which is
Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). It charges CHF 4 000 per year
for Swiss nationals and CHF 8 000 per year for foreign students. It is
excluded from the above statistics in order to represent the typical
characteristics of the Swiss university system.
10. Governments can reasonably prioritise some education sectors over others
if they have explicit policy goals to achieve with them and external social
benefits underpin such funding differentials. For example, providing
additional grants in VET professions where there are acute labour market
shortages is common practice across OECD countries (OECD, 2010b).
11. The latter impact is a priori expected to be weak as grants tied to low
income would primarily target those currently facing an access barrier to
PET; hence, they are likely to represent additional funding as opposed to
relocated funding.
References

BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2010), Kantonale Stipendien und Darlehen
2009, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011a), Monatlicher Bruttolohn (Zentralwert und Quartilbereich)
nach Dienstjahren, Anforderungsniveau des Arbeitsplatzes und
Geschlecht, BFS, Neuchâtel,
www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/03/04/blank/data/01/06_0
1.html, accessed on 25 June 2012.
BFS (2011b), Schülerinnen, Schüler und Studierende 2009/10, BFS,
Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011c), Tertiärstufe: Hochschulen. Detaillierte Daten. Finanzen, BFS,
Neuchâtel,
www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/15/06/data.html#Finanzen
, accessed on 15 July 2011.
BFS (2011d), Kantonale Stipendien und Darlehen 2010, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011e), Lohnniveau - nach Ausbildung. BFS, Neuchâtel,
www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/03/04/blank/key/lohnstrukt
ur/nach_ausbildung.html, accessed on 28 July 2011.
Cattaneo, M. A., (2011), “New Estimation of Private Returns to Higher
Professional Education and Training”, Empirical Research in Vocational
Fuentes, A. (2011), “Raising Education Outcomes in Switzerland”,
Economics Department Working Papers No. 838, OECD, Paris.
Jenkins, B. (2011), Skills Beyond School: Access and Drop Out, background
document for the Meeting of the Group of National Experts on
Vocational Education and Training, 3-4 October 2011, Paris,

EDU/EDPC/VET/RD(2011)1.
OECD (2008), Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society: Volume 1.
Special Features: Governance, Funding, Quality, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2010b), Learning for Jobs, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education
doi: http:/dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264087460-en
OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology) (2011a),
Skills beyond School. The OECD Policy Review of Post-Secondary
Vocational Education and Training. Swiss Background Report, OPET,
Bern.
OPET (2011b), Berufsbildung – Ein Schweizer Standort- und
Wettbewerbsfaktor. Studie bei multinationalen Unternehmen sowie
Expertinnen und Experten in der Schweiz, in Deutschland und
Grossbritannien, OPET, Bern.
Ordovensky, J F. (1995), “Effects of Institutional Attributes on Enrollment
Choice: Implications for Postsecondary Vocational Education”.
Economics of Education Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 335-350.
Rektorkonferenz der Fachhochschulen der Schweiz, (2011), Studying in
Switzerland. Universities of Applied Sciences, Rektorkonferenz der
Fachhochschulen der Schweiz, Bern.
Rektorenkonferenz der Schweizer Universitäten (2011), University
Education, www.crus.ch/information-programme/study-in-
switzerland.html?L=2#8_Costs, accessed on 17 July 2011.
Ständerat (2011), Aus- und Weiterbildungskosten. Steuerliche Behandlung.
Bundesgesetz. (Nr. 11.023),
www.parlament.ch/ab/frameset/d/s/4819/358896/d_s_4819_358896_359
019.htm, accessed on 15 July 2011.
ökonomischer Indikator des Bildungswesens”, Die Volkswirtschaft (10),
pp. 44-47.
3. MAKING THE MARKET WORK BETTER – INTER-CANTONAL FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS – 45
Chapter 3
Making the market work better - inter-cantonal financing

arrangements
Variations in financial support for professional education and training

(PET) between cantons may be distorting the market in PET provision. This
review therefore strongly supports the current initiative to implement an
inter-cantonal funding arrangement on the same model as already exists for
other education sectors.
46 – 3. MAKING THE MARKET WORK BETTER – INTER-CANTONAL FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS
Challenge
The diversity of cantonal arrangements for funding professional

education and training (PET) creates two challenges. First, the lack of
effective co-ordination across cantons distorts the PET market both for
professional colleges and for preparatory courses for national PET
examinations. Second, these market weaknesses may sustain inefficient
training provision, distort student choice, and lead to inefficient public
spending.
The market for professional colleges and preparatory courses is

distorted by uncoordinated cantonal financing arrangements
Some of the features of functioning markets (see for example Samuelson
and Nordhaus, 2001) are present both for professional colleges and
preparatory courses (OPET, 2011):
1. Students are free to choose among training providers and courses,
their choice being limited only by price and basic entry conditions
such as experience relevant to the course to be attended.1
2. PET providers are free to choose their students as long as they make
sure that nationally defined minimum criteria are met.
3. Entry to and exit from the education market for PET providers is
subject to some basic quality conditions. Preparatory course
providers typically face no quality assurance procedure for entry,
but professional colleges are accredited based on their core curricula
by the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology
(OPET) and inspected by cantons.2
4. Price and quality of courses may vary across providers and training
programmes.
Student choice of provider and training programme is constrained by the
existing financial arrangements in and among cantons. Cantons receive a
lump sum from the federal government for the whole VET/PET sector based
on the number of VET students. From the allocated federal subsidy, they are
free to devote a portion to PET while they may also add to the funding from
their own resources (Federal Vocational and Professional Education and
Training Act of 2002). Most cantons fund some professional colleges within
the canton directly instead of, or as well as, funding students, employing
their own criteria.3 Preparatory courses are usually not funded, except in
cases of historical or economic importance. Cantons differ in terms of the
relative weight of professional colleges and preparatory courses in overall
cantonal funding of PET (OPET, 2008). According to the only detailed

study on PET financing, more than 70% of professional college costs were
covered by the public in 2006, but for preparatory courses the comparable
figure was between 10 and 15% (PwC, 2009).4 The diversity of cantonal
approaches is large (OPET, 2008). For example, the canton of St. Gallen
funds both professional colleges and preparatory courses within the same
framework and supervises both subsectors in order to assure quality going
beyond federal requirements.5 Interestingly, many of the professional
colleges also offer preparatory courses – St Gallen provides a similar level
of subsidy to both private and publicly owned providers.
While differences in cantonal funding are a natural expression of
cantonal differences, they can create market distortions as the success and
financial viability of PET providers depend not only on their competitive
performance, but also on cantonal preferences and funding arrangements.
The regulatory framework is, however, in flux. The Swiss authorities and
social partners have been working on a new continuing education law since
2006 in order to find ways to implement the new competences conferred on
the federal government by the new Educational Constitution of 2006
(Ehrenzeller, 2009; EVD, 2009). The new law under preparation is likely to
encompass preparatory courses and amend the cantonal funding principles
and quality assurance procedures. The final form of the new law remains
uncertain as the consultation procedure is likely to start not before the third
quarter of 2011 (SVEB, 2011), but this direction of reform could bring more
transparency and uniformity to funding and improve the quality assurance of
preparatory courses. Funding arrangements for professional college courses
is under revision at the moment too. In 2010, the Swiss Conference of
Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) carried out a consultation process
involving all major stakeholders (EDK, 2011) envisaging a new
inter-cantonal concordat on financing professional college courses (OPET,
2011). Cantons would be free to join or not join this concordat and some
cantons may need strong incentives to join, as some cantons inevitably
would lose from the concordat. Nevertheless, past experience suggests that
very few existing concordats cover all 26 cantons and the pattern of
inter-cantonal concordats does not necessarily reflect the inter-dependencies
among them (OECD, 2011). Cantons further away from each other, smaller
cantons, and cantons with different official languages are less likely to enter
into a joint concordat especially in the field of education, innovation, and
culture (Bochsler, 2009).
One indication of cantonal differences in terms of public financing of
PET, and hence the potential approach to a new inter-cantonal financing
agreement, is provided by their relative shares in the total number of PET
graduates and overall PET costs. These differences reflect not only the
relative sizes of PET in each canton, but also the differences in the mix of
public, industry-run and private PET providers which rely on public funding
to varying degrees (see Table 3.1). Bern, Tessin, and Zurich bear a much
larger proportion of costs than graduations, while Aargau, St. Gallen, and
Thurgau turn out comparatively more graduates than their share in costs.
These differences can be interpreted in a number of ways, for example the
first group of cantons may subsidise PET relatively more heavily, or they
may host a comparatively more expensive mix of PET provision than the
second group. But inter-cantonal student flows play a role in explaining
these differences as “sender” cantons (where the student lives) typically pay
less for their students than the receiver cantons for their own students (PwC,
2009). On average, sender cantons paid 64% of the costs compared to the
receiver cantons in 2006 (without counting hoteling and catering this figure
is only 30%). Overall 30% of PET students come from a canton other than
the training provider’s canton (OPET, 2008).
Table 3.1 Cantonal shares in the national number of PET graduates and
PET cost, 2007
Difference: graduation-
Share in
Share in graduations cost share
costs
(percentage point)
Bern 13.5% 19.4% -5.9
Tessin 2.5% 5.5% -3
Zurich 21.9% 24.9% -3
Graubünden 2.8% 5.5% -2.7
Geneva 2.3% 4.4% -2.1
Basel-city 1.5% 2.9% -1.4
Basel-agglomeration 2.6% 3.3% -0.7
Neuenburg 1.6% 2.3% -0.7
Waadt 5.6% 6.0% -0.4
Jura 0.5% 0.7% -0.2
Uri 0.4% 0.4% 0
Appenzell I.Rh. 0.2% 0.1% 0.1
Glarus 0.4% 0.3% 0.1
Nidwalden 0.6% 0.4% 0.2
Obwalden 0.5% 0.3% 0.2
Appenzell A.Rh. 0.6% 0.3% 0.3
Schaffhausen 1.0% 0.6% 0.4
Table 3.1 Cantonal shares in the national number of PET graduates and
PET cost, 2007 (continued)
Difference: graduation-
Share in
Share in graduations cost share
costs
(percentage point)
Schwyz 1.7% 1.1% 0.6
Freiburg 2.3% 1.6% 0.7
Solothurn 3.3% 2.4% 0.9
Zug 2.1% 1.2% 0.9
Abroad 1.2% 0.0% 1.2
Wallis 2.6% 1.2% 1.4
Luzern 7.7% 6.1% 1.6
Thurgau 2.8% 1.2% 1.6
St. Gallen 7.5% 3.8% 3.7
Aargau 10.2% 3.8% 6.4
Switzerland 100.0% 100.0% -
Source: OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology) (2008),
Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe Masterplan zur interkantonalen Finanzierung der höheren
Berufsbildung, OPET, Bern.
The current arrangements for funding students moving between cantons

are complicated, difficult to comprehend for students, and reflect many
historical idiosyncrasies. They reflect a patchwork of bilateral agreements
between cantons fixing transfer payments on a training course and provider
level (OPET, 2011).
Inter-cantonal financing arrangements clearly affect the study choices of
students. In professional colleges visited by the OECD team about 5-10% of
applicants apparently had to withdraw due to the lack of inter-cantonal
financing support.
In a typical case, the applicant approaches the PET provider of her or his
choice in the canton other than their canton of residence. If the provider
finds the applicant suitable for acceptance, it assists the applicant in finding
out the amount of financial help available from their canton of residence. At
this point the student learns whether the course and the provider are part of
an inter-cantonal agreement, or not. If it is not, then she or he can still attend
the course, but will receive no financial contribution from the canton,
considerably increasing the cost of the PET programme. According to
students and professional college teachers interviewed by the OECD team,
the system is not easily comprehensible for students and burdensome for the
schools. It is also unfair. Students coming from different cantons, but
attending the same PET course pay different fees due to their different
canton of residence rather than their performance or experience.
The deficiencies of PET college and preparatory course markets may

sustain inefficient training provision, distort student choice, and
contribute to inefficient public spending
These financing arrangements clearly hamper student mobility across
cantons. As many of the cantons host only small markets for professional
colleges and preparatory courses in each economic sector,6 the effective
choice of students often comes down to one or only a few providers in their
canton of residence.7 On the supply side, the PET providers’ pool of
potential applicants is also more limited. Some PET providers may therefore
act as local monopolies backed by public subsidy, limiting effective
competition.8 Some cantonal funding priorities may be justified as there
might be beneficial local externalities or some cantons may compete for
individuals with lower tax rates also implying lower public subsidies for
PET, but these would have to be weighed against impacts on the national
economy (OECD, 2009). There are indications of existing considerable
quality differences across PET providers within each profession; more
competition could yield efficiency gains.
Recommendation
As already envisaged by the Swiss authorities, implement an
effective inter-cantonal financial agreement allowing for consistent and
co-ordinated funding across cantons in support of an effective PET
market.
This OECD recommendation reflects the need for Switzerland to
proceed energetically with its current initiative (OPET, 2011). First, it would
potentially increase the quality and efficiency of PET provision. Second, it
would allow the inter-cantonal funding in PET to match in terms of
coherence, that in VET and academic tertiary education where funding
follows the student regardless of the canton. Third, it would enhance the
capacity of the PET market to mediate between cantonal priorities and
national interests and make PET funding more transparent.
Better functioning PET markets would increase quality and efficiency

of provision
Competition among schools for students appears to have unclear
impacts on quality and efficiency as the precise institutional setting and
research methods are very important;9 the nature of competition between
private and public providers plays an important role (Waslander, Pater and
van der Weide, 2010). But markets were found to have a positive impact on
flexibility, innovativeness, and diversity of VET training provision in
Australia (Anderson, 2005) and in general education in some other countries
(Waslander, Pater and van der Weide, 2010). In the Swiss PET sector, better
functioning markets’ most important positive impact could be to reward and
encourage better quality providers, and discourage weaker providers.
Effective inter-cantonal funding arrangements for PET would match

those for other education sectors
The Vocational School Accord of 2006 regulates the cantonal financing of
upper secondary VET.10 In a typical case, the canton of residence pays the
canton of VET provision a lump sum per student each academic year,
calculated on the basis of the average cost of VET provision according to
major study types (e.g. full-time apprenticeship). For the Universities of
Applied Science (Fachhochschulen) (UAS), cantons cover the costs of their
students studying in another canton through lump sum transfers per student
amounting to 85% of average costs in each academic field (Inter-cantonal
Universities of Applied Science Concordat of 2003). A similar agreement
has existed for universities since 1997 (Inter-cantonal University Concordat
of 1997). Due to the introduction of uniform funding principles and cost
accounting methods in academic tertiary education, the average costs of
education programmes have converged considerably and inter-cantonal
co-operation has increased (e.g. in joint masters programmes) (Fuentes,
2011).
Given these successful precedents, implementing a similar model for
PET would remove an unfortunate anomaly. It would also build on existing
practice which determines payments from sender to receiver cantons
according to the average cost of training provision by main types of training
(in PET this could be differentiated according to professional group and
professional colleges and preparatory courses). The necessary precondition
for this kind of arrangement is a more complete and uniform cost accounting
system for all PET providers across the whole of Switzerland.
Enhanced inter-cantonal mobility would mediate between cantonal

priorities and national interests in PET provision
Currently, cantons have incentives to invest in PET according to purely
local benefits of PET which come from local externalities, such as PET
graduates staying in the canton of training and paying higher income tax.
This may harm overall economic performance as it discourages cantons
from funding training which benefits the country as a whole but not the
canton (OECD, 2011, 2009). Such local priorities could be mediated by
effective national or regional PET markets where funding follows the
student beyond the canton of residence and income-contingent loans
facilitate access and choice across geographically distant providers. Cantons
would still be able to fund the professions and providers of their preference,
but they would face the full cost of these measures.
An agreement which increases the transparency of PET funding is
desirable in itself and the precondition for further effective policy change.
Underpinning this would be better data, including data on student numbers,
training costs, and financial flows.
Notes
1. Entry conditions vary greatly across professions and between professional

colleges and preparatory courses. While entry conditions generally apply
to professional exams rather than the preparatory courses themselves;
effectively, students choose to attend a preparatory course only if they
completed or are close to completing them by the end of the preparatory
training.
2. Conditions vary across professions and between professional colleges and
preparatory courses in this respect as well. While preparatory courses
typically face no quality assurance procedure, professional colleges’
training programmes are approved by OPET based on the proposed core
curricula (EVD, 2010).
3. A recent lawsuit whereby a professional college challenged the canton’s
decision on declining public funding to the college signals that cantonal
funding decisions are not unproblematic.
4. Unfortunately, this study is not based on a representative sample of PET

training providers, hence the findings cannot be taken as valid for the
whole PET sector. It only covers selected areas of training such as
transport, business, or agriculture (for more details on the methodology
see PwC, 2009).
5. For more information see Canton of St. Gallan, 2011. The model for the
agreement between PET providers and the canton can be found at AfB
(2011).
6. Cantons often have specialised PET provision reflecting the specialisation
of their local economies.
7. The OECD team came across examples where PET provision was not
available in certain professions implying that the students had to attend
courses in another canton. There is no available statistics which would
precisely state the extent of this phenomenon.
8. This argument primarily applies to the courses within a given profession,
but in some cases to the choice of profession within a branch when there
is no available course in some professions in the given canton.
9. Efficiency is understood here as technical efficiency whereby a given
level of student outcomes can be achieved using more or less inputs.
10. Only the cantons of St. Gallen and Zurich did not join this agreement. The
inter-cantonal movement of their VET students is regulated by separate
agreements.
References
AfB (Amt für Berufsbildung des Kantons St. Gallen) (2011), Muster:
Leistungsvereinbarung Höhere Berufsbildung 2011 bis 2012, AfB,
St. Gallen.
Anderson, D. (2005), Trading Places. The Impact and Outcomes of Market
Reform in Vocational Education and Training, National Centre for
Vocational Education Research, Adelaide.
Bochsler, D. (2009), “Neighbours or Friends? When Swiss Cantonal
Governments Co-operate with Each Other”, Regional & Federal Studies,
Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 349 – 370.
Canton of St. Gallen (2011), Canton of St. Gallen website: Höhere
Berufsbildung und Weiterbildung,
www.sg.ch/home/bildung/Berufsbildung/erwachsene___personen/weiter
bildung_und.html, accessed August 2011.
EDK (Schweizerische Konferenz der kantonalen Erziehungsdirektoren)
(2011), Interkantonale Vereinbarung über Beiträge an Bildungsgänge
der Höheren Fachschulen (HFSV), Ergebnisse der Vernehmlassung
(26 May 2010 – 30 November 2010), EDK, Bern.
Ehrenzeller, B. (2009), Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten von Art. 64a BV.
Gutachten zuhanden der Expertengruppe Weiterbildung des BBT,
Expertengruppe Weiterbildung des BBT, Bern.
EVD (Eidgenössische Volkswirtschaftsdepartement) (2009), Bericht des
EVD über eine neue Weiterbildungspolitik des Bundes in
Zusammenarbeit mit dem Eidgenössischen Departement des Innern
(EDI), EVD, Bern.
EVD (2010), Verordnung des EVD über Mindestvorschriften für die
Anerkennung von Bildungsgängen und Nachdiplomstudien der höheren
Fachschulen. Änderung vom 20. September 2010,
www.admin.ch/ch/d/as/2010/4555.pdf, accessed on 25 July 2011.

OECD (2011), OECD Territorial Reviews: Switzerland 2011, OECD
Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe Masterplan zur interkantonalen Finanzierung
der höheren Berufsbildung. OPET, Bern.
OPET (2011), Skills beyond School. The OECD Policy Review of Post-
Secondary Vocational Education and Training. Swiss Background
Report, OPET, Bern.
Samuelson, P. A and W. D. Nordhaus (2001), Economics, 17th Edition,
McGraw-Hill, New York.
SVEB (2011), Nationales Weiterbildungsgesetz,
www.alice.ch/de/themen/weiterbildungsgesetz/, accessed on 4 August
2011.
Waslander, S., C. Pater and M. van der Weide (2010), “Markets in
Education: An Analytical Review of Empirical Research on Market
Mechanisms in Education”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 52,
OECD, Paris.
4. MAKING THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (PET) MARKET WORK BETTER… – 57
Chapter 4
Making the professional education and training (PET) market

work better – transparency and quality
The professional education and training (PET) market, including

preparatory courses for federal exams and professional colleges, is not as
transparent as it needs to be to serve the interests of students and in order to
ensure an efficient market. To this end, this review recommends the
collection and dissemination of more information on course quality and
costs, and encourages more effective self-regulation of preparatory courses
for the professional exams.
58 – 4. MAKING THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINNG (PET) MARKET WORK BETTER…
Challenge
Transparency and quality are separate but related. There are two main
challenges. First, the information available for students and applicants about
professional education and training (PET) courses is often insufficient for
students to make good choices, weakening the incentives for providers to
deliver quality training. Second, particularly in the absence of such market
incentives, the absence of external quality control on preparatory courses is
a significant challenge.
Lack of information about PET courses weakens markets

Given that the quality of education provision is not usually transparent,
information on course and provider quality is an essential element of
well-functioning education markets (OECD, 2008 Chapter 3; Cabrera and
La Nasa, 2002). In the context of vocational education and training (VET),
effective provider markets need to offer a range of indicators of course
quality, including student achievement, labour market success of graduates
or drop-out rates.1 In the absence of such information students rely on
informally networked assessments of school quality. Such informal
information is often incomplete and biased, unevenly available across social
groups, and adjusts to school quality changes only slowly. (Cabrera and La
Nasa, 2002). These challenges are even more pronounced in the case of
diverse training providers offering preparatory courses (the methods of
instruction can be, for example, coaching, class teaching and distant
learning).
In Switzerland, even though data on preparatory course providers are
incomplete, there were at least 500 providers offering more than 1 000
courses preparing students for the 400 professional exams across the whole
country in 2008 (OPET, 2011). But, several cantons had few providers
(OPET, 2008). 200 professional colleges offered 407 degree programmes in
2008, but half of Swiss cantons offered less than six professional college
degree programmes. Often a typical PET applicant interested in one
profession, has limited choice, given that inter-cantonal mobility is
constrained. A better choice of providers and courses is possible in the
technical, business and healthcare professions which together represent
more than half of PET graduations and exams (BFS, 2010a, 2010b).
According to the only – non-representative – survey of PET students
(BASS, 2009), the second most frequently quoted criterion for PET provider
choice is high reputation; similarly important is that the provider is well
known (Table 4.1). But pass rates are quoted only by about every tenth
respondent of the survey. Reputation and the knowledge of the provider
point to the importance of informal knowledge sharing (Waslander, Pater

and van der Weide, 2010). This was confirmed by those interviewed by the
OECD team who explained that students typically rely on course quality
information conveyed by informal networks and “word of mouth”. The
relatively low weight assigned to pass rates in determining the choice of
provider may suggest that there is not enough information available for it to
play a substantial role in the choice process.
Table 4.1 Most frequently quoted criteria for provider choice, 2008
Criteria Proportion of respondents (%)

Provider is in the region, short travelling distance 73.4
Provider has a high reputation 40.4
Training at the provider is practice and profession oriented 37.6
Provider offers convenient time schedule 34.3
Known provider, guarantees serious training 29.7
Provider offers good price/quality ratio 20.5
Provider has above average pass rate at professional exams 9.4
The offer of provider is unique in Switzerland 3.9
Other 6.1
Table 4.1 shows that quality and cost have a relatively small bearing on
the choice of courses. This is not surprising given that there is no readily
available source - either public or private - offering comparative data on
course quality and cost. However, there is an Internet site providing
information on professions and training content – not including course
quality and cost - both for secondary and tertiary students
(www.berufsberatung.ch). Drop-out rates, pass rates, and quality of
instruction vary a lot across providers according to the evidence provided to
the OECD by representatives of professional colleges and labour market
associations. Lack of information on course offerings, costs, and quality
may also act as barrier to entry into PET for some, adding to the financial
barriers to PET discussed earlier. Even large employers (including some
interviewed during the OECD visits) sometimes lack the basic quality
information on PET providers necessary to make an informed choice of
course.
Lack of external quality control for preparatory courses is a

challenge
In the absence of federal requirements on providers of preparatory
courses, cantons could stipulate additional requirements for preparatory
course providers; but this is very rare. While the regulatory framework is
expected to change in the near future, amending the cantonal funding
principles and quality assurance procedures, the exact direction of these
changes is as yet unclear. The existence of providers of poor quality was
raised by representatives of labour market associations interviewed by the
OECD review team especially with regards to preparatory courses. It is also
unsettling that a large segment of PET covering all major professional fields
does not fall under the regulation either of professional colleges or
preparatory courses. About 20% of PET students (2009/2010) attend such
courses (BFS, 2011).
Recommendation
Collect and disseminate better information from PET providers on
course quality and costs. Encourage industry self-regulation of
preparatory courses to ensure high and consistent standards.
Implementation of this recommendation would improve PET market
mechanisms in at least two major respects. First, better data on PET
providers would contribute to better informed student choice. Second,
industry self-regulation of preparatory courses would increase quality by
setting minimum standards and supporting quality improvement without an
excessive burden of government regulation.
Better data on PET providers would lead to better informed student

choice
In education more widely, when information is available in a
standardised and accessible format such as school league tables or university
rankings published on the Internet, the majority of students make use of
such data. The impact on choices depends on factors such as the availability
of alternative schools, but on average it is only modest. This is because
students rely on a mix of information sources among which official
performance data is only one (Waslander, Pater and van der Weide, 2010).
In Swiss PET, better data would be helpful both to students and other
stakeholders, including employers. As many informal networks conveying
information on courses and providers tend to be local in nature, the
provision of national performance and cost data on all PET courses and
providers would also help inter-cantonal mobility and strengthen
competition among providers.
Currently basic statistical information on PET is missing or incomplete

(OPET, 2011). The collection of quality and cost information on courses and
providers would also contribute to the evidence base used in Swiss tertiary
education policy making. The previous section on inter-cantonal financing
arrangement envisaged better data collection regarding PET finances. The
recommendation on transparency and quality would go further in this
direction and would allow for the exploitation of synergies (e.g. provider
efficiency figures can be calculated by combining course cost and quality
indicators).
Such indicators might cover:
• pass and dropout rates;
• training costs for students as well as provider costs;
• basic data on students (e.g. gender, educational background); and
• additional data on training quality.
In Switzerland, extensive data collection from providers is standard
practice in academic tertiary education (OECD, 2009) and basic information
from professional colleges is already collected by BFS (Bundesamt für
Statistik) (see for example BFS, 2011). Hence, the Swiss federal government
and cantons have the capacity to implement similar arrangements in PET,
although it would require a considerable effort to identify PET providers.
While professional colleges are registered and approved by the Federal
Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), preparatory
courses face no such requirement. As a result, there is no complete list of
providers of preparatory courses (OPET, 2011). In order to identify them at
least a simple registration procedure would be necessary as a precondition
for providers to offer courses.
Dissemination might be pursued in a number of ways. One option would
be to charge a federal public organisation with data dissemination. For
example, the existing information portal for career guidance –
www.berufsberatung.ch – operated by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal
Ministers of Education (EDK) might be extended to report on provider and
course level information. It is a standard practice in tertiary education across
OECD countries to publish performance data regularly to aid student choice;
see for example the United Kingdom or Poland (OECD, 2008, Chapter 5)
although in the field of VET the publication of institution-specific
performance data is less common (OECD, 2010).2 An alternative option
would be to provide data and perhaps a measure of support to other bodies
offering data and advice.
Industry self-regulation could improve quality without burdensome

government regulation
Many OECD countries regulate the market entry of training providers,
using rules regarding, among other things, the number of academic
programmes offered, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of full-time
professors and their academic qualifications (Spain) to approval of the
curriculum plans and programmes by an examining public university (Chile)
(OECD, 2008, Chapter 3). But such arrangements typically regulate inputs
rather than outputs. Ideally regulation should be a route to quality
improvement, and support peer learning by providers. The facilitation of
peer learning among providers is already high on the agenda of OPET which
regularly runs workshops for professional colleges and exam organisers to
this end.
Currently, professional exams are largely managed by labour market
organisations and preparatory courses are sometimes directly delivered by
providers owned or managed by industry. The freedom to offer a course
created a dynamic market for preparatory courses populated by a mix of
private, public, and semi-public providers (OPET, 2011). As exams, in
principle, represent the final check on the students’ knowledge there are
good arguments for avoiding heavy-handed regulation of preparatory
courses. But the vast majority of those who take a professional exam attend
a preparatory course and so it is in the public interest that courses attended
by PET students are of adequate quality.
Given the (desirably) dominant position of labour market organisations
in PET, excessive government intervention is undesirable and potentially
unfeasible. But, there are alternative routes to good regulation including
industry self-regulation (Hepburn, 2002; OECD, 2002). If the federal state
permitted professional and labour market organisations to regulate
preparatory courses registered by the federal government it could also imply
a flexible system where those organisations most concerned about course
quality pursue self-regulation most rigorously. Self-regulated professions
could set minimum standards for preparatory courses and could also provide
guidance for worst performing providers. During the OECD visits to
Switzerland, some representatives of employer and professional
organisations favoured such a regulatory solution.
As a number of employer and professional organisations have their own
providers for preparatory courses which compete with other providers it
would be imperative to assure that industry self-regulation does not lead to
market distortions unfairly favouring industry-run courses.
Notes
1. Although there is at least one important difference between the Swiss

PET market and education markets in school education and academic
tertiary education: PET applicants and students are already active on the
labour market before and typically also during their training. This
potentially implies a different student choice process as applicants and
students have a fairly good idea about labour market demand and their
career prospects.
2. One example of institution specific performance data published alongside
occupation specific information on a VET career guidance site can be
found in Hungary at http://szakmavilag.hu/.
References

BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2010a), Diplomstatistik 2009, Höhere
Berufsbildung: Eidgenössische Fachausweise (Berufsprüfungen) –
Eidgenössische Diplome (Höhere Fachprüfungen), BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2010b), Diplomstatistik 2009, Höhere Berufsbildung: Höhere
Fachschulen HF, BFS, Neuchâtel.
BFS (2011), Schülerinnen, Schüler und Studierende 2009/10, BFS,
Neuchâtel.
Cabrera, A. F. and S. M. La Nasa (2002), “Understanding the College-
Choice Process”, New Directions for Institutional Research, No. 107,
pp. 5
Hepburn, G. (2002), Alternatives to Traditional Regulation, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2002), Regulatory Policies in OECD Countries: From
Interventionism to Regulatory Governance, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2008), Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society: Volume 1.
Special Features: Governance, Funding, Quality, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2010), Learning for Jobs, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education
Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe Masterplan zur interkantonalen Finanzierung
der höheren Berufsbildung, OPET, Bern.
OPET (2011), Skills beyond School. The OECD Policy Review of

Post-Secondary Vocational Education and Training. Swiss Background
Report, OPET, Bern.
Waslander, S., C. Pater and M. van der Weide (2010), “Markets in
Education: An Analytical Review of Empirical Research on Market
Mechanisms in Education”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 52,
OECD, Paris.
5. RESPONDING TO GLOBALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE – 67
Chapter 5
Responding to globalisation and technological change
International audiences, including foreign nationals based in large

companies in Switzerland sometimes do not understand or fully recognise
the quality of Swiss Professional Education and Training (PET)
qualifications, particularly in relation to more internationally familiar
university qualifications. This review recommends measures to secure this
recognition partly through stronger articulation with the academic tertiary
sector and partly by embracing international networks of providers.
68 – 5. RESPONDING TO GLOBALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
Challenge
Switzerland has a small open economy strongly integrated into both

European and global trade networks. It depends, to a significant extent, on a
small number of high-end niche markets such as private banking and
pharmaceuticals. While this openness and specialisation are key assets, they
also create certain vulnerabilities. First, international competition puts
pressure on the Swiss economy and therefore on the professional education
and training (PET) system which supports it. Second, the
internationalisation of the Swiss economy requires a system of PET
qualifications which are well recognised both internationally and
domestically; but currently many of these qualifications lack sufficient
recognition by foreign companies. Third, some barriers to transition from
PET to academic tertiary education endangers the high status of PET,
particularly when viewed from an international perspective. Finally, many
of the professions in the PET system are becoming more international in
their competence requirements.
International competition puts pressure on the Swiss PET system

Pharmaceuticals accounted for almost one third of all exports in 2010
and high-precision instruments, clocks, and jewellery for almost one fifth
(BFS, 2011a). The EU accounted for 68% of all Swiss trade in 2010 (IMF,
2011). There is extensive inward and outward foreign direct investment
(FDI) with the stock of inward FDI reaching 94% of the Swiss GDP in
2009, the fourth highest figure among OECD countries (see Figure 2.1).
Figure 5.1 Inward foreign direct investment stock as a percentage of GDP

250
200
150
100 2004
2009
50
Korea
Luxembourg
Greece
Mexico
Austria
Ireland
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Slovenia
Turkey
Israel
Belgium
Estonia
Australia
Switzerland
Sweden
Iceland
Japan
Slovak Republic
Italy
Portugal
France
OECD average
Canada
Denmark
Spain
Poland
Finland
Hungary
Germany
Chile
Czech Republic
Norway
New Zealand
United States
Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2011),

UNCTAD website, http://unctadstat.unctad.org/, accessed August 2011.
In Switzerland two continuing parallel trends are important. First, the

demand for most highly skilled technical “PET” professions is forecast to be
relatively stable between 2010 and 2020, so that they will decline in relative
importance on the Swiss labour market; while demand for most of the
managerial professions in SMEs and large enterprises is expected to expand
in the coming decade (CEDEFOP, 2010a; also see section on key
international indicators). Second, the “skills intensity” of many professions
is increasing, i.e. the skills required to undertake that profession are
becoming more demanding (CEDEFOP, 2010a).
These trends imply that the demand for PET graduates is likely to be
stable or slightly decline in the traditional PET technical occupations; but
there will be expanding demand in the set of occupations where there is
competition between PET and academic tertiary graduates – for example in
ICT, managerial and commerce positions. This will intensify the challenge
of labour market recognition (or lack thereof) of PET degrees. Changing
“skills intensity” will require the PET system to flexibly adjust the content
of provision and qualifications (on professional contents see below).
A somewhat different light is shed on PET provision by looking at

productivity performance. While Switzerland is one of the richest OECD
countries, its productivity gap vis-à-vis the best performing countries has
widened in the last decade (OECD, 2009). Although causal interpretation is
problematic, detailed enterprise level econometric analysis of Switzerland
suggests that university graduates have a positive impact on productivity
generally and non-university tertiary graduates (Universities of Applied
Science (UAS) (Fachhochschulen) and PET) have a significantly positive
impact primarily in manufacturing (Arvanitis, Bolli and Wörter, 2010).1
Furthermore, the relationship between firm level productivity, wages, and
worker composition is complex: workers with apprenticeship education have
a positive wage impact on tertiary educated workers and tertiary educated
workers increase overall firm productivity (Backes-Gellner, Rupietta and
Tuor, 2011). The suggestion that stronger tertiary level training (including
VET/PET) would be helpful is supported by the literature on the links
between innovation and productivity among OECD countries as it suggests
high-wage economies’ competitive advantage and future growth largely
depend on innovation and research and development (R&D) (Guellec and
Pilat, 2008). While Switzerland’s R&D and innovation performance is
outstanding in respect of indicators like R&D spending or scientific
publications per million population (OECD, 2010b); the pace of productivity
growth might be accelerated further by more extensive use of tertiary
vocational skills (Arvanitis, 2006). While specific quantitative evidence is
not available, the PET system might usefully do more to develop the skills
and competencies necessary for innovation and productivity improvement
(Toner, 2011), especially with regard to start-ups and SMEs which could
drive innovation in emerging sectors (Guellec, 2006), both areas represent a
traditional focus of PET (see for example the traditional Meister title
preparing professionals for running their own business).
International recognition of PET qualifications is inadequate

Many stakeholders believe that the PET system lacks sufficient
recognition among foreign owned companies2 in Switzerland (OPET,
2011a) and among company staff from abroad. Many highly qualified jobs
in Switzerland can be filled by graduates of the PET system as well as by
the graduates of tertiary A programmes in universities and UASs. But, the
PET system is much more salient in Switzerland than in the countries from
which most inward Swiss FDI originates: the Netherlands, United States,
France, or the United Kingdom (OPET, 2010; OECD, 2011). So, many of
the foreign companies investing and operating in Switzerland are unfamiliar
with the Swiss PET system and may therefore prefer the more familiar
qualifications of graduates of universities and UASs to PET qualifications.
Unfamiliarity may also mean that foreign companies are less willing to send
their employees to preparatory courses or professional college courses

(foreign-owned companies are less likely than Swiss-owned companies to
train apprentices in Switzerland (Mühlemann et al., 2007)). Employer
associations told the OECD team that it was often difficult to accommodate
foreign-owned enterprises into the Swiss PET system. At the same time,
some foreign companies that have gained familiarity with the Swiss PET
system, now make use of and contribute to it considerably.
The high average rate of return to PET degrees indicates that PET is
generally well-respected in the labour market (Wolter and Weber, 2005;
Cattaneo, 2011). But in sectors where foreign ownership is widespread such
as information technology competition from universities may be salient.
Barriers to transition endanger the high status of PET

In Switzerland transition from upper secondary VET to UASs is
conditional simply on obtaining a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate
(Berufsmaturität) (Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009). But transitions from
PET are more complex. Transition from PET to UAS is generally dependent
on the specific institution, even though the Rector’s Conference of the Swiss
Universities of Applied Sciences has issued guidelines concerning the
admission of PET graduates into bachelors’ programmes (Konferenz der
Fachhochschulen der Schweiz, 2006). Some university faculties also admit
PET graduates on varying criteria (Rektorenkonferenz der Schweizer
Universitäten, 2011).
According to a representative sample of male workers in the 1999–2005
period, 4% of all male tertiary graduates followed a “mixed” education
pathway starting with a vocational degree (Backes-Gellner and Tuor, 2010).
Many come through the increasingly popular route of Federal Vocational
Baccalaureate (Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009). But, in 2009/2010 only
3.2% of students enrolled in UASs held a PET diploma as a prior
qualification,3 suggesting that the transition from PET to UAS is either
difficult or unattractive even though the exact reasons are unknown.
Barriers to the transition from PET to academic tertiary education not
only inhibit gaining additional skills, but also lower the status of the
VET/PET track, since students may perceive the vocational track as a cul de
sac especially in the more school-based professional college degree
programmes. In the medium to long run, this is also likely to impact on
student choice between PET and UAS as well as between vocational and
academic tracks. This challenge is not unique to Switzerland, for example,
as a result of a long reform process German tertiary education institutions
grant access to tertiary VET graduates to bachelors programmes and in some
cases to masters programmes too.
Skills requirements are becoming globalised

In Switzerland, the content of each PET qualification, described in
competency profiles and certified by OPET, is primarily determined by
employers and professional associations through the certification process
(OPET, 2011b; OPET, 2007). Any company and professional association
can contribute; but in practice companies more extensively engaged with the
PET system contribute most fully. This ensures that the content of PET
qualifications adequately respond to local business needs including Swiss
national requirements.
But the Swiss economy increasingly requires skills which reflect
European and global as well as national needs. The PET system therefore
needs to balance local with international skills requirements when defining
qualifications. This is also necessitated by the enhanced international
mobility both of workers and students (OECD, 2010a; CEDEFOP, 2010b;
Ward, 2009). Globalising influences are strongest in sectors where trade and
FDI play a crucial role. For example, the content of professions tied to
business accounting standards are changing fast in response to the
internationalisation of these standards and the client base of such services
(Nobes and Parker, 2008). Balancing local and international content in
rapidly changing professions requires the active engagement of employers.
This may be a particular challenge in Switzerland given the relatively weak
integration of foreign-owned firms into the PET system.
Recommendation
Respond actively to globalisation and technological change by:
i) improved permeability and collaboration between PET and academic
tertiary education; and ii) strengthened international network building
on sectoral and professional college levels.
The recommendation is supported by three arguments which also relate
to potential implementation options. First, productivity in Switzerland might
be improved by strengthening the PET system’s contribution to innovation.
This can be achieved by improving the permeability of tertiary education,
especially by supporting transitions from PET to academic tertiary
education; and by encouraging collaboration between PET and universities
and UASs. Second, the PET system’s internationalisation can be advanced
by positioning it better both abroad and at home which would contribute to
its competitiveness with academic tertiary degrees. The National
Qualifications Framework (NQF) could be implemented in line with
domestic as well as European demands and also by adequately “branding”
the Swiss PET system. Third, the PET system’s internationalisation can
progress on sectoral and professional college levels through networks of
actors which would contribute to more internationally orientated training
provision and professional content.
Improved permeability and collaboration between PET and academic

tertiary education is needed
Increasing the permeability of the Swiss academic tertiary education
system to PET graduates would help to preserve and indeed increase the
status of PET, especially for professional colleges. It is suggested that
granting PET graduates better access to academic tertiary programmes
would yield good individual as well as social returns (see Arvantis, Bolli
and Wörter, 2010, and references therein). In addition, advancing the
academic skills of the Swiss labour force should further support the
country’s innovation and productivity performance. Strengthening the
transition from PET to academic higher education should complement the
existing strong labour market orientation of PET.
The existing access mechanisms could be complemented by
strengthening federal support for credit transfer arrangements and
standardised entry conditions and by offering targeted preparatory courses
(Moodie, 2008, Chapter 8). The experiences of Germany and Austria in
granting access to postsecondary VET graduates to academic tertiary
education, in particular to masters’ level studies may prove valuable for
Switzerland (see Table 1.1 on regulations in Germany and Austria).
A strong national qualifications framework (NQF) could also help.
Research evidence, mainly from the US, suggests that localised student
transfer policies are less effective than a comprehensive policy even when
holding academic standards, curricula, and student background constant
(Moodie, 2008, Chapter 9). Access should be facilitated while retaining the
filters which are necessary to ensure that all students entering academic
tertiary education have the right preparation to benefit.
Better collaboration is needed between PET and academic tertiary
education institutions while preserving the strong involvement of employer
organisations. This would support PET in its teaching of general academic
skills (see recommendation on general content of professional colleges
below) and to improve its orientation towards innovation. Collaboration is
more likely to involve UASs and professional colleges due to their
similarities in terms of labour market orientation. Inevitably, UASs are
likely to find it more attractive in terms of status to enhance collaboration
with universities rather than with PET. But as institutions that are largely
funded by the public, UASs have an obligation to work constructively with
other parts of the education sector, including PET, and they should have
effective incentives to ensure that they do so.
PET needs to take advantage of the opportunities of

internationalisation
Graduates of the Swiss PET system would be better placed in
competition with holders of academic tertiary degrees both in Switzerland
and abroad if the equivalence between PET and academic tertiary degrees
were seen to be equivalent by key stakeholders. Currently, the Swiss
authorities are in the process of preparing a National Qualifications
Framework (NQF) in line with the European Qualifications Framework
(EQF) aiming to improve transparency and comparability across a diverse
range of PET and other higher education degrees and allowing for a
recognition of equivalence between PET and academic tertiary education
based on learning outcomes. Empirical research on the impacts of
qualifications frameworks is scarce, but it suggests that NQFs at least
potentially can help in improving pathways and credit transfer across
educational sub-systems (Allais, 2010; Dunkel, Le Mouillour and Teichler,
2009). This beneficial impact is likely to be conditional on NQFs being
developed in partnership with the respective educational institutions and the
level descriptors and standards being simple enough for actors to
comprehend (Allais, 2010).4 At the same time there is no reliable evidence
that existing NQFs improve the labour market recognition of vocational
qualifications even when strong employer support is present; limited
evidence points at successes in niche areas where strong support from
human resources and recruitment firms helped raise the profile of specific
qualifications (Allais, 2010).
Regarding recognition of PET abroad, embedding the Swiss NQF in the
EQF may potentially bring some benefits. But differences in national
approaches to NQF development and the diversity of actors and education
systems suggest that the positive impacts will be limited.
Finally, positioning Swiss PET both domestically and internationally is
likely to benefit from a resonant title for professional college degrees instead
of the current ones which are difficult to recognise outside the Swiss
national context. The degree titles should address both domestic and
international audiences and effectively locate PET qualifications in relation
to academic tertiary degrees. For example, the titles professional degree or
Swiss professional degree could be used.
While globalisation presents challenges to the PET system, it also
creates opportunities. If individual professional colleges and indeed PET
professions extend their range of international contacts, that will support
more internationally oriented training provision and professional content.

The OECD team has come across a number of promising practices
throughout the review visits in sectors as diverse as catering-hoteling and
graphic design.
Government support for the development of international networks of
PET training providers would also contribute to enhancing the reputation
and marketing the Swiss PET system and could potentially lead to
professional exams recognised across borders.
Notes
1. There is a wide ranging debate on the role of academic as well as

vocational graduates on firm productivity: on Germany, see for example
Zwick (2005, 2007), Mohrenweiser and Zwick (2008), Addison et al.
(2000); on Austria, for example Prskawetz et al. (2005) and Prskawetz,
Freund and Mahlberg (2008); and further evidence on Switzerland, for
example Arvanitis (2008) and Hollenstein and Stucki (2008).
2. Firm level evidence seemingly contradicts this argument as the share of
PET graduates in comparable foreign and Swiss owned enterprises
employing more than ten employees does not differ; albeit, among
companies employing less than ten employees foreign owned enterprises
employ significantly less PET graduates than their Swiss owned
counterparts. The lack of statistical difference among foreign and Swiss
owned enterprises may indicate that the decisive factor in the companies’
recruitment and training policies is the orientation of the human resources
decision makers and their knowledge of the Swiss education and training
system which may not coincide with the ownership structure of the
respective company (e.g. Swiss owned multinational may staff its human
resources department with non-Swiss nationals who are less likely to
know well the Swiss education and training system) (Mühlemann, 2011).
3. Special analysis of BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) upon request.
4. A documented example of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

which brought about in-transparency is the South African NQF (although
it is being now reworked due to the realisation of its shortcomings (Allais,
2010).
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Evidence from Germany and Britain”, British Journal of Industrial
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Frameworks: Report of a Study in 16 Countries, International Labour
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Arvanitis, S. (2006), “Innovation and Labour Productivity in the Swiss
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Konjunkturforschungsstelle Forschungsberichte Studies No. 149, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
Arvanitis, S. (2008), “Are Firm Innovativeness and Firm Age Relevant for
the Supply of Vocational Training?” – A Study Based on Swiss Micro
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Arvanitis, S., T. Bolli and M. Wörter (2010), Vocational Education and
Productivity in the Swiss Business Sector – An Analysis Based on
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6. IMPROVING NUMERACY AND LITERACY SKILLS – 81
Chapter 6
Improving numeracy and literacy skills
Numeracy and literacy are of increasing importance in professional

occupations, and the professional education and training (PET) system,
alongside other parts of the Swiss education system need to address them
more effectively. This chapter presents recommendations for the
professional college system, in particular, to address weaknesses in basic
skills identified at the outset of courses, following the best practice of many
professional colleges that already pursue this approach.
82 – 6. IMPROVING NUMERACY AND LITERACY SKILLS
Challenge
First, professional education and training (PET) students, like their

vocational education and training (VET) counterparts, typically receive
limited direct tuition in numeracy and literacy, although they may develop
numeracy and literacy skills in the context of other training. Second,
globalisation and technological change is intensifying the need for numeracy
and literacy. Third, successful participation in continuing education crucially
depends on adequate numeracy and literacy.
Clearly the primary responsibility for developing good numeracy and
literacy skills falls on the compulsory school system. While recognising this,
good basic skills are not always fully acquired at school, and they do need to
be developed and maintained throughout life, as they underpin further
learning. Higher level numeracy and literacy skills are also needed in more
technical and managerial roles in the labour market. For this reason the issue
remains relevant for all branches of post compulsory education and training,
including the professional education and training in Switzerland.
VET/PET students receive limited direct tuition in numeracy and

literacy
One of the key strengths of the Swiss VET/PET system is its strong
practical and labour market focus (Hoeckel, Field and Grubb, 2009). But
this does imply less instruction time for general academic skills such as
literacy, numeracy, or foreign languages. Most PET students come from the
upper secondary VET system, where practical training usually takes up
more than half of the total instructional time - a high proportion by OECD
standards (OECD, 2010). Apprentices typically spend one day per week at
the vocational school and four days at the host company or at industry
courses where they receive on-the-job training (Hoeckel, Field and Grubb,
2009). One day per week on average does not allow for extensive numeracy
and literacy development for apprentices who represent the majority of
Swiss upper secondary VET, even though there is no automatic correlation
between instruction time and skills learned. In addition, this one day is
shared between competing theoretical topics, including theoretical subjects
related to their vocational skills and competences. Literacy and numeracy
can be developed in practical contexts – for example when mathematics is
used in technical occupations. But, making such “contextual learning”
successful is challenging, as it requires careful planning and team-working
among teachers to integrate practical training and the acquisition of general
skills (OECD, 2010).
As most PET students are required to have two to five years of work
experience in the relevant field, numeracy and literacy skills not used in
day-to-day activities may tend to get weaker. Numeracy and literacy rarely
forms a direct part of the PET curriculum either in preparatory courses or
professional colleges; but many PET programmes aim to broaden the
professional knowledge of students and this broadening is often mediated
through literacy and numeracy. In many preparatory courses the main
emphasis falls on deepening specialised professional and technical
knowledge. In addition, the length of education is typically short, thus, there
is relatively little time for improving general skills.
All of the professions involving federal diplomas require candidates to
have good scholastic aptitudes, particularly in their mother tongue in order
to pass written examinations, draft essays for their qualification and prepare
a presentation. Mathematical skills are mainly used in professions within the
secondary and tertiary sectors, which represent 95% of all professions for
which a federal PET examination exists. The typical profile of a candidate
preparing for a federal PET examination is someone aged around 30 with
several years of professional experience and employed in a company.
Professional college degree programmes typically take longer, have
more full-time students and offer a broader education than preparatory
courses for professional exams (BFS, 2011). While this could, in principle,
allow for numeracy and literacy development the emphasis in professional
colleges mainly falls on vocational and professional subjects. Professional
college degree programmes are highly variable in terms of the amount of
general education offered. For example, according to the professional
college representatives interviewed, in business and arts professions students
typically have good numeracy and literacy (often having completed a
vocational or academic baccalaureate prior to PET) and their training
programme involves broad skills development such as management,
communication, or team working. On the other hand, according to students
and teachers interviewed, those studying in professional colleges from the
technical and construction professions often have weaknesses in the
numeracy and literacy skills (e.g. mathematics, German and English
language knowledge and communication skills) which might underpin
successful course completion. This is consistent with evidence from the
Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). This measured the skills of
adults aged 16-65 in four main competency areas: prose literacy, document
literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving (Thorn, 2009). While the
measurement was geared towards skills needed for every-day life and by no
means directly related to exercises practiced at school, the data of the 2003
ALL survey in Switzerland showed a strong association between education
type and test scores across all four competency areas even though causal
interpretation of the results is problematic (Notter et al, 2006, Chapter 3).

Adults holding a non-university tertiary degree, including PET, performed
worse than holders of a university degree, a pattern consistent across
competency fields.
Weaknesses in numeracy and literacy are a potential cause of drop-out
(defined as leaving the course and the course provider definitively) in PET.
According to PET providers, the single most important reason for drop-out
is missing competences, a pattern consistent both for professional colleges
and preparatory courses (BASS, 2009). Students say that the main reason for
the drop-out of fellow students is “too high” professional standards, but
“missing prior knowledge” is also important (Table 2.4). While missing
competences, too high professional standards, and missing prior knowledge
go beyond numeracy and literacy the association is likely to be high.
Professional college representatives interviewed by the OECD review team
also stressed that general skills weaknesses pose problems for successful
course completion. International evidence also suggests that weak academic
performance is one of the most powerful predictors of drop-out from
secondary as well as higher education which is in turn often influenced by
general skills (Lyche, 2010; Rumberger and Lim, 2008; Hargreaves, 2004).
Table 6.1 Top 10 reasons for observed drop-out of other students,

interrupting own PET studies, and changing own PET course, 2008
Reasons for interrupting own PET studies and

Likely reasons for observed drop-out of other
changing own PET course, 2008
students, 2008 (% of respondents quoting)
(% of respondents quoting)
Personal reasons 33.2 Too high professional requirements 47.4
Too high time requirements at work 20.2 Personal reasons 41.1
Financial problems 15.2 Too high time requirements at work 37.3
The provided curriculum is not
Studies are far from practice 12.8 35.7
interesting
Important prior knowledge/experience
Too high professional requirements 12.1 33.3
is missing
Family reasons 10.8 Family reasons 30.1
The provided curriculum is not
10.2 Change of job or profession 18.8
interesting
Important prior
9.8 Financial problems 18
knowledge/experience is missing
Failed the interim exams 8.3 Studies are far from practice 8.6
The training doesn't bring any direct Undesirable jobs and employment
6.8 3.8
benefits for the present activities perspectives
Globalisation and technological change increase the need for sound

numeracy and literacy skills
Technological change has altered the skills mix necessary for many
professions, particularly in high-tech and highly skilled professions. The
importance of higher level problem solving and communication skills has
increased (Autor, Levy, and Murnane, 2003) and such higher level skills are
underpinned by basic literacy and numeracy skills. Industrial restructuring
requires many workers to acquire new skills during their careers and
sometimes change profession. Career adjustment necessitates the ability to
learn which, in turn, largely relies on strong basic skills (OECD, 2010). This
phenomenon has been well documented in a number of countries
(e.g. Kézdi, 2006).
These labour market developments mean that any weaknesses in the
numeracy and literacy of PET graduates will pose a growing problem.
Unfortunately, empirical evidence covers only some aspects of the labour
market outcomes of VET/PET graduates – for example there is no evidence
on employers’ satisfaction with VET/PET graduates’ skills.1 Employment
rates according to education background differ markedly between academic
and vocational tertiary graduates. While the employment rate of PET
graduates is higher than that of academic tertiary graduates at the early years
of their careers, this reverses by the last 10-15 years of their careers leading
to an employment advantage for academic tertiary graduates (Fuentes,
2011). This could suggest PET graduates are less able to renew their skills
and acquire new ones, perhaps because of the well-established role of
literacy and numeracy skills in underpinning further learning. Nevertheless,
more research is needed on skill renewal of PET graduates as the available
evidence is inconclusive.
This interpretation is supported by econometric analysis of the
depreciation of skills over time (Weber, 2010). As the initial length of
studies decreases the rate of depreciation, PET graduates’ skills depreciate
slower than upper secondary VET graduates’ skills. But PET graduates’
skills depreciate faster than the skills not only of University of Applied
Science (Fachhochschulen) (UAS) graduates and university graduates, but
also holders of academic or vocational Matura – findings are consistent for
men and women. Skills depreciation is significantly slower for professional
college graduates than for examination graduates. These differences can be
interpreted, partly in terms of the way in which technological change may
make some vocational technical skills outdated, and partly because broader
general skills underpin further learning at different points in a person’s
career. But the results should be treated with care as they are subject to
cohort effects which are difficult to control.
Although the general skills of VET/PET graduates may allow them to

adjust to changing labour market needs only partially, their specific skills
still allow for a great degree of flexibility. Research done using German
Labour Force Survey data revealed that profession specific skills allow for a
great degree of mobility across professions which require similar skills
profiles, even though they belong to different sectors and require the
performance of rather different tasks (Backes-Gellner and Geel, 2011).2
Mobility between professions belonging to the same skills “cluster” results
in wage gains, whereas mobility across skills clusters lead to wage loss.
Sound numeracy and literacy supports lifelong learning and career

development
Among adults, sound general skills underpin most kinds of further
formal and informal learning, including basic literacy and numeracy skills as
well as problem solving and communication skills (OECD, 2010; EVD,
2009). In Switzerland, adult participation is strong by international standards
and given planned enhancements in regulatory support, this high level of
participation should be sustained (EVD, 2009). As in other countries,
participation in adult continuing education is heavily dependent on prior
attainment, (Backes-Gellner, 2011), and highest for those with academic
tertiary degrees. While participation rates are high for PET graduates they
are even higher for holders of academic or vocational baccalaureates
suggesting that there is a room for improvement (Weber, 2010).
Recommendation
Encourage a stronger emphasis on numeracy and literacy
development in professional colleges, especially by introducing targeted
measures for remediating basic skills gaps identified on entry.
This recommendation is supported by three major arguments. First,
improved numeracy and literacy development in professional colleges
would encourage course completion, support transition from PET to
academic tertiary education, (especially to UASs) and contribute to better
access to continuing education. Second, it would also improve the capacity
to adapt to changing labour market requirements. Third, while strengthening
basic skills development is potentially desirable for the whole PET sector,
professional colleges have a particular need to implement remediation and
improvement policies.
Stronger numeracy and literacy among PET graduates would support

further educational participation
It is sometimes suggested that vocational tertiary graduates are unable to
follow academic tertiary studies because they lack general academic skills
(Moodie, 2008, Chapter 9). Where student transfer policies are strong and
evaluated as successful (such as in California) general subjects play a crucial
role: the overlap in the general curriculum between academic tertiary
education and vocationally oriented postsecondary education facilitates
student access to tertiary education (Moodie, 2008, Chapter 9). Stronger
numeracy and literacy programmes in professional colleges could not only
improve the access of professional college graduates to academic tertiary
education, but could also contribute to a stronger credit transfer system
(i.e wider recognition of courses completed at professional colleges when
entering academic tertiary education). These arguments primarily apply to
the UAS sector where there are already guidelines for accepting PET
graduates, but could also bear on access to Swiss universities.
Stronger numeracy and literacy among PET graduates could also
contribute to a higher participation rate in continuing education, as even
within the group of tertiary graduates those with stronger document reading
skills (level 1 and 2) are more likely to participate in continuing education
(Notter et al., 2006, Chapter 6).3
Stronger literacy and numeracy among PET graduates would

improve labour market outcomes
Much research suggests that improving general skills such as literacy
and numeracy decreases the probability of unemployment and increases
earnings (Thorn, 2009; Green and Riddell, 2001; OECD and Statistics
Canada, 2000). This argues for stronger general skills training to increase
the adaptability of the labour force. While these studies typically look at the
whole population of countries, the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL)
Survey allows for detailed analysis of Swiss PET graduates’ labour market
outcomes in relation to general skills. Simple comparison of PET graduates’
earnings according to document reading skills levels shows how document
reading skills have a positive impact on earnings (Figure 2.4) (the findings
are consistent across competency fields hence only document literacy
findings are reported here). Improving skills above the two lowest levels
(levels 1 and 2) seems to have more positive impact in earnings than moving
from medium level skills (level 3) to advanced skills (levels 4 and 5).
Econometric analysis following Green and Riddell (2001) and OECD and
Statistics Canada (2005) shows that for PET graduates medium level skills
yield a 15-17% higher earnings premium compared to lower level skills
whereas higher level skills have a 25-32% earnings premium compared to

lower level skills after controlling for gender, work experience, and area of
residence (detailed results using a range of regression specifications can be
found in Annex C). These figures are about twice as high as the ones found
for the whole Canadian population using International Adult Literacy
Survey (IALS) data (Green and Riddell, 2001), or for the whole Swiss
population using ALL data (Falter, Pasche and Hertig, 2007). While more
research is needed to firmly establish casual links, and control for further
confounding factors such as sector-specific effects, the returns from medium
and advanced level general skills relative to lower level general skills is
higher for PET graduates than for the whole labour market.4 This may imply
that for many well-paid jobs for PET graduates, at least medium level
general skills are required.
Figure 6.1 Average annual earnings of PET graduates according to skills

level in document literacy, ALL Survey, 2003
(95% confidence intervals are indicated)
CHF 120 000

CHF 93 529
CHF 100 000 CHF 86 318
CHF 70 393
CHF 80 000
CHF 60 000
CHF 40 000
CHF 20 000
CHF 0
Level 1-2 Level 3 Level 4-5
Document Level, 3 Categories
Source: OECD calculations based on Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey data,
see: Falter, Pasche and Hertig (2007).
The professional colleges have a particular role in addressing basic

academic skills
Challenges related to general academic skills confront the whole PET
sector, albeit most likely to differing degrees as employers are ready to
articulate general skills needs to differing degrees.
Preparatory courses are largely unregulated by the cantons and the
federal government and are largely driven by labour market organisations
and market forces, making state intervention into course content both
difficult and perhaps inappropriate. On the other hand, professional
colleges’ degree programmes are certified at the federal level and regularly
assessed by the cantons. As public funding is substantial for professional
colleges, government preferences are more readily reflected in course
content, besides responding to industry preferences. These make
professional colleges better placed to remedy existing general skills gaps
and further improve these skills.
This reform potential is already reflected in some professional colleges’
practices. A professional college visited by the OECD review team tested
the numeracy and literacy level of entrants and offered preparatory courses
in the first semester for those with particular weaknesses, but who are
otherwise suitable for a PET course. Building on this and similar existing
practices of professional colleges can provide the models for reform which
can be either required for other professional colleges or encouraged through
peer learning. The goal of disseminating best practice would have to be to
ease completion rather than representing an additional access barrier.
Notes
1. Such studies are standard practice among OECD countries. See for
example, UKCES (2010) for the United Kingdom or Fazekas and Hajdú
(2011) for Hungary.
2. The authors use the example of clockmaker and medical technician.
3. Although it must be noted that simple comparisons of group averages
while informative cannot be interpreted as indications of causality.
Further research could unearth the reasons behind different choices to
engage in continuing education.
4. Due to the high employment level of PET graduates no significant result
could be found when relating general skills levels and employment
probabilities.
References
Autor, D H, F Levy, and R J Murnane (2003), “The Skill Content of Recent

Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration”, Quarterly Journal of
Economics, Vol. 116, No. 4, pp. 1279 -1333.
Backes-Gellner, U. (2011), Eine Analyse der Wirksamkeit ausgewählter
Instrumente zur Förderung der Weiterbildungsbeteiligung. Gutachten
zuhanden der Expertenkommission Weiterbildungsgesetz (Art. 64a BV),
Universität Zürich. ISU – Institut für Strategie und
Unternehmensökonomik, Zürich.
Backes-Gellner, U. and R. Geel (2011), “Occupational Mobility Within and
Between Skill Clusters: An Empirical Analysis Based on the
Skill-Weights Approach”, Empirical Research in Vocational Education
and Training, Vol. 3 (2011), No. 1, pp. 21-38.
BFS (Bundesamt für Statistik) (2011), Schülerinnen, Schüler und
Studierende 2009/10, BFS, Neuchâtel.
EVD (Eidgenössische Volkswirtschaftsdepartement) (2009), Bericht des
EVD über eine neue Weiterbildungspolitik des Bundes in
Zusammenarbeit mit dem Eidgenössischen Departement des Innern
(EDI), EVD, Bern.
Falter, J-M, C. Pasche, and P. Hertig (2007), Compétences, Formation et
Marché du Travail en Suisse. Une Exploitation des Résultats de
l’Enquête Internationale sur les Compétences des Adultes (ALL), BFS,
Neuchâtel.
Fazekas, M. and M. Hajdú (2011), A szakképző iskolát végzettek iránti
kereslet várható alakulása. A dokumentum a „Szakiskolai férőhelyek
meghatározása – 2011, a regionális fejlesztési és képzési bizottságok
(RFKB-k) részére” kutatási program keretében készült, MKIK GVI,
Budapest.
Green, D. A. and W. C. Riddell (2001), “Literacy, Numeracy and Labour

Market. Outcomes in Canada”, University of British Columbia
Discussion Paper No.: 01-05.
Hargreaves, D. H (2004), Learning for Life. The Foundations for Lifelong
Learning, The Policy Press, Bristol.
Kézdi, G. (2006), Not Only Transition. The Reasons for Declining Returns
To Vocational Education, CERGE-EI, Prague.
Lyche, C. (2010), “Taking on the Completion Challenge: A Literature
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Moodie, G. (2008), From Vocational to Higher Education. An International
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Notter, P., et al. (2006), Lesen und Rechnen im Alltag. Grundkompetenzen
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ANNEX A – 93
Annex A: Overview of postsecondary vocational examinations in the three

Germanophone countries: Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Austria Germany Switzerland

Postsecondary professional Meisterprüfung/Befähigungsprüfung Fortbildungsprüfungen (Advanced Federal Professional Education and
examination (Master craftsperson examination). Vocational Training Examinations) a Training (PET) Diploma Examinations
set of professional examinations, (Eidgenössische Prüfungen), including
among which Fachwirt (for people the Federal Diploma Examination
working in commerce), Industriemeister (Eidgenössische Berufsprüfung) and
(for industry) and Handwerksmeister the Advanced Federal Diploma
(for crafts). Examination (höhere Fachprüfung).
Objectives To provide deeper technical skills and To provide deeper technical skills, to To provide deeper technical skills and
skills to run one’s own business in the be entitled to train apprentices, to skills to run one’s own business, to be
regulated trades (71 trades in 2009), to provide capacity to run one’s own entitled to train apprentices, to certify
be entitled to train apprentices. business in the regulated trades (for required competencies in legally
the Handwerksmeister) and to manage regulated areas (e.g. electrician, tank
a team of people (for the inspector). Advanced Federal
Industriemeister). Diplomas represent a higher
professional level than Federal
Diplomas, but in many professions only
one kind of PET Diploma can be
obtained.
94 – ANNEX A

Snapshot In 2011-2010, the number of obtained In 2010, the number of advanced In 2009, 14 852 people obtained a
Meister qualification was 3 536. vocational examinations passed was national PET examination of which
93 357, among which the number of 12 184 was Federal Diploma
Fachwirt was 27 063, Industriemeister Examination and 2 668 was Advanced
was 7 827, and Handwerksmeister was Federal Diploma Examination.
19 659.
Institutional setting Master craftsperson exams are The examinations are primarily The federal government, through the
organised managed by the Chambers of Federal Office for Professional
by the offices for master craftsperson Commerce in the field of industry and Education and Technology, OPET,
examinations, which are located at the by the Chambers of Crafts in field of approves rules for professional
regional Economic crafts and trades. The main examinations and recognises
Chambers. examinations (a little over two hundred) professional college degree
are federally regulated and consistent programmes by approving the core
across the whole of Germany. Others curricula. The federal certification
(a little over three thousand) are process ensures that there is no
managed by local chambers. The overlap between examinations and that
Federal Ministry of Education and the stakeholders reach a consensus
Research is responsible for approving regarding exam content without
new Advanced Vocational Certificates extensive government intervention.
and exams in accordance with the
BMWi and after consultation with the
Federal Institute for Vocational
Education and Training.
ANNEX A – 95

Pre-requisites Candidates have to be above 18 years Candidates must have completed an The professional organisations define
of age. apprenticeship. the entry requirements. If existing,
candidates must first obtain a Federal
PET Certificate in or an equivalent
qualification such as years of
professional experience.
Preparation Students typically take part in a Students typically take part in a Students typically take part in a
preparatory course even though preparatory course even though preparatory course for a national PET
participation is not mandatory and the participation is not mandatory and the examination even though participation
degree is offered exclusively on the degree is offered exclusively on the is in principle not mandatory and
basis of the exam performance. basis of the exam performance. Only degrees are awarded exclusively on
Preparation courses are offered mainly 3,2% of the examinees do not follow the basis of exam performance.
by the Institute of Economic Promotion any formal preparatory courses. These Preparatory courses are much more
(Wirtschaftsförderinstitut). Private are offered by the Chambers of Crafts diverse than professional college
providers can also set up their own and Commerce as well as by degree courses and they are largely
preparatory courses, with very little Vocational Schools, and a large variety unregulated. In the preparatory
regulation. of smaller private providers. These are courses registered by BFS, only 7% of
largely unregulated, and their quality students followed a full-time course.
can be very variable. 75% of the Preparatory courses can take from a
examinees attend part-time few months to two to three years.
preparatory courses at the Chambers Course format reflects student
and 22 % attend distance and online demand, it often means weekend or
courses offered by private providers. evening classes and distance learning.
96 – ANNEX A

Examination The Meister exam consists of five The Meister exam consists of four The exam characteristics depend on
mandatory modules of which the order parts: 1. Practical; 2. Theoretical; 3. + the professional field. The exam set-up
is not fixed: 1. Practical (Part A can be 4. are the same in all trades (Economic responds to rapidly changing labour
replaced by LAP certification); 2. Oral and legal knowledge + pedagogical market demand.
(Part A can be replaced by LAP skills).
certification; 3. Written; 4. Instructor
examination; 5. Entrepreneur
examination.
Finance In 2010, the Meister examination fees The Meister exam fees cost The exam is subsidised by the Swiss
were EUR 2 329. The costs of the EUR 2 000-2 500 and financial support Confederation. The expenses per
preparatory courses varies widely. schemes are available. The costs of person depend on the profession and
Financial support is available for the preparatory courses varies widely. on the subsidisation the institution
candidates. offering the preparatory courses
receive from the Canton.
Access to further higher education Meisters are allowed to start Bachelors' Since 2009, a “Meister title with PET Diploma holders in their relevant
programmes at Fachhochschulen and distinction” renders Bachelor's studies profession may be entitled to enrol for
universities. at Fachhochschulen possible. a Bachelor's degree programme at
Fachhochschulen, but allowing the
access rests on the decision of each
Fachhochschule.
Sources: OPET (Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology) (2011), “Skills beyond School in Switzerland: Country Background
Report.” OPET, Bern; Hippach-Schneider U., et. al (2012), “Skills beyond school in Germany: Country Background Report”; Schneeberger A., K.
Schmid and A. Petanovitsch (2011), “Skills beyond School in Austria: Country Background Report”, OECD Review of Postsecondary Vocational
Education and Training.
ANNEX B – 97
Annex B: Comparison of three Swiss Advanced Federal PET Examinations with

similar US vocational qualifications
Switzerland United States of America

Title KMU Finanzexperte mit eidgenössischem Diplom Certified Financial Planner (CFP®)
(Financial expert of small to medium businesses with (also called Registered Financial Planner when registered with the
Advanced Federal PET Diploma) Registered Financial Planner Institute)
Exam title Höhere eidgenössische Fachprüfung für KMU Finanzexperten Financial Planner Certification examination
(Advanced Federal PET Examinations for financial experts of
small to medium businesses)
Regulation - Regulated by the Federal Vocational Education Act (BBG), Ch. 3, - The programme is administered by the Certified Financial Planner Board
Art. 28, 2. of Standards Inc. which awards the Financial Planner Certification after
- The Interessensgemeinschaft Ausbildung im Finanzbereich (IAF) fulfilment of the CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
is the organising body for the whole of Switzerland.
Prerequisite - A Federal PET Certificate of Finance or any equivalent - Bachelor's Degree and three years’ work experience. Candidates have
qualification five years from the date of the Certification Exam to retroactively satisfy
+ At least four years of work experience in the finance sector these two requirements.
+ Completion of the 10 required modules
98 – ANNEX B

Final Examination 1) Diploma thesis (two months, counts twice) 10 hours of exams (285 questions)
2) 45 min oral examination (Presentation of the diploma thesis + And adherence to the CFP Board's code of ethics
expert talk)
Charges CHF 4 500 (EUR 40 80) (Each required modules: CHF 450) (EUR USD 595 (EUR 418).
408).
Objective - Qualifies candidates to carry out the profession independently - Assesses the candidates’ ability to apply their financial knowledge
- Provides a clear standard
Qualification - Having in-depth knowledge in all areas of financial planning - Being competent in all areas of financial planning
- Co-ordinating a team of financial experts for medium-sized - Being capable of providing financial planning unsupervised
companies - Being eligible to use the CFP mark as a distinction of professional
- Being in the position to train others expertise
Validity The qualification title is valid for the whole of the professional In order to maintain their certification status CFPs must pay an annual fee
career (USD 45) and attend 30 hours of approved continuing education every two
years.

Title Spenglermeister mit eidgenössischem Diplom UPC Master Level Plumber
(Master Plumber with Advanced Federal PET Diploma)
Exam title Advanced Federal PET Diploma for Plumbers UPC Master Level Plumber Certification
Regulation - Regulated by the Federal Vocational Education Act (BBG), Ch. 3, e.g. The National Inspection Testing Certification (NITC)
Art. 28, 2. - Is a third-party ISO 9001:2008 certified provider of certification services to
- The Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinischer Gebäudetechnikverband the piping industry in compliance with Federal and State ADA regulations.
Suisstec is the organising body for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. - Tests and certifies personnel in the plumbing, piping, and related piping
- The names of all Master Plumbers are published in a public industries.
register of the Federal Office for Professional Education and - Offers certifications (Journeyman/ Master titles, city, county, state
Technology. requirements)
- Specialises in Test Development and Test Administration.
ANNEX B – 99

Prerequisite - Federal PET Certificate of Plumbing or any equivalent - Either at least six years experience OR a federal and state approved
qualification apprenticeship
+ At least four years of professional experience + two years of professional experience
+ Completion of six required modules (1.5 years) + NITC’s Journeyman Plumber Certification or an equivalent
Final Examination 1) Four-hour written examination - Open book examination (125 MCQ) based on the newest edition of the
2) Plumbing diploma thesis (counts twice) and 1 hour oral exam Uniform Plumbing Code by the International Association of Plumbing and
Mechanical Officials
Charges - Charges for the six modules depend on the provider. - 2003: Initial cost USD 140 (EUR 98), cost of certification renewal USD 140
(EUR 98)
Objective - Determines the candidates’ ability to carry out the profession - Provides licensing agencies with information regarding professionals
independently, to run their own company, and to train others - Provides an independent appraisal of professional competency
Qualification - Having the required skills and knowledge for specialist plumbing - Being qualified in all areas of plumbing
tasks
- Being able to manage one’s own business and to train others
Validity The qualification title is valid for the whole of the professional - The UPC Master Level Plumber Certification is valid for three years
career. - Renewal requires an open-book exam (Online, by mail, or administered by
a training agency or the employer)

Title Diplomierter Elektroinstallateur Master Electrician
(Electrician with Advanced Federal PET Diploma)
Exam title Advanced Federal PET Diploma for Electricians Master Level Electrician Examination
Regulation - Regulated by the Federal Vocational Education Act (BBG), Ch. 3, - All states require licensure for electricians, most often in the form of a
Art. 28, 2. state exam.
- The Verband Schweizerischer Elektro-Installationsfirmen is the - Not all states offer a state-wide journeyman or master electrician licence
organising body for the whole of Switzerland and implements the and the licence may be limited to the county or city level only.
examinations in co-operation with the Eidgenössischen - Licensing for journeyman/master electricians are controlled by local
100 – ANNEX B

Starkstrominspektorat, the Schweizerischen Vereinigung building officials.
Beratender Ingenieure, and the Verein Interessensgemeinschaft - Journeyman apprenticeships take three to five years combing practical
Weiterbildung Elektro. and classroom training.
- Electricians offering their services directly to the public must hold a master
licence.
- For one’s own business a special licence and professional experience are
required.
- Interstate agreements for reciprocal recognition of journeyman/master
licensing exist.
Prerequisite - Completion either of the Higher education Entrance Examination - Most states require Master electricians to hold the Electrical Journeyman’s
for Electrical Project Leaders OR of the Electrical Inspector Licence or a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related field,
Federal PET Diploma and to have completed 6-7 years professional experience.
Final Examination - Consists of eight subjects (four school-based, four on-site written - Exam preparation is self-guided, either face-to-face or home study course
and oral exams) - 5,5-hour Master Electrician open-book examination (50-80 questions)
Charges - Depend on the provider The cost of preparatory programmes ranges from a few hundred dollars for
e.g.: At the Schweizerisch-Technische Fachschule Winterthur, home study materials to over a thousand dollars for an instructor-led
students pay CHF 5 400 (EUR 4 072) (Including the preparatory course.
course)
Objective - Certifies the candidates’ ablity to carry out the profession - Determines the candidates’ ability to qualify for a state-licenced electrician
independently, to run their own company, and to train others - Increases the candidates’ professional skills and social standing
Qualification - Qualifies for higher positions, managing one’s own business, and - Being able to advance to positions such as supervisor, project manager,
training others construction superintendent, electrical inspectors, owner of one’s own
contracting business
Validity The title is valid for the whole of the remaining professional career. - To maintain the licence, electricians are required to take tests on changes
to the National Electrical Code and to complete safety programmes.
- Master electricians must earn 16 hours of training each term.
ANNEX C – 101
Annex C: Ordinary least squares regression of earnings on

general skills, ALL survey, holders of Swiss PET degree, 2003
Dependent variable = in annual

earnings from main job
N=492
Regression specifications: 1 2 3 4 5
constant Beta 10.978** 10.893** 10.818** 10.866** 10.975**
t-statistic 62.94725 53.52826 54.69161 73.76782 47.67593
female Beta -0.7127** -0.6741** -0.6549** -0.6545** -0.702**
t-statistic -5.74295 -5.51186 -5.07674 -5.06187 -5.616
years of work experience Beta 0.0209 0.0215 0.02 0.0091** 0.0212
t-statistic 1.117647 1.143617 1.058201 1.978261 1.164835
years of work experience Beta -0.0004 -0.0004 -0.0003 -0.0004
t-statistic -1 -1 -0.75 -1
urban Beta 0.1731 0.1962 0.1969 0.1977 0.1962
t-statistic 1.436515 1.536413 1.551615 1.553024 1.600326
prose level 3 Beta 0.1696**
ref. cat.: prose level 1-2 t-statistic 2.104218
prose level 4-5 Beta -0.0726
ref. cat.: prose level 1-2 t-statistic -0.41965
document level 3 Beta 0.1661*
ref. cat.: document level 1-2 t-statistic 1.73382
document level 4-5 Beta 0.1595
numeracy level 3 Beta 0.1363 0.1464*
ref. cat.: numeracy level 1-2 t-statistic 1.419792 1.65237
numeracy level 4-5 Beta 0.3039** 0.3174**
ref. cat.: document level 1-2 t-statistic 2.108952 2.332109
102 – ANNEX C
Dependent variable = in annual

earnings from main job
N=492
Regression specifications: 1 2 3 4 5
problem solving level 3 Beta 0.106
ref. cat.: prob. solving level 1-2 t-statistic 0.934744
problem solving level 4-5 Beta 0.2547**
ref. cat.: prob. solving level 1-2 t-statistic 2.180651
Notes: ** significant at 5% level; * significant at 10% level
ANNEX C – 103
Dependent variable: in hourly learning from

main job
N=477
Regression specifications: 1 2 3 4
constant Beta 3.2626** 3.2066** 3.1611** 3.2966**

t-statistic 40.73159 39.83354 35.1624 43.66358
female Beta -0.2327** -0.2049** -0.1991** -0.2144**
t-statistic -5.06972 -3.94038 -4.14792 -4.32258
years of work experience Beta 0.0021 0.0032 0.0013 0.0022
t-statistic 0.235955 0.359551 0.156627 0.247191
years of work experience2 Beta 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001

t-statistic 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
urban Beta 0.0802** 0.0919** 0.0903** 0.0936**
t-statistic 2.061697 2.203837 2.420912 2.52973
sector: market services Beta 0.0709 0.0838 0.0741* 0.0742
ref.cat.: primary and secondary indst. t-statistic 1.270609 1.526412 1.422265 1.410646
sector: public services Beta 0.0446 0.0397 0.0242 0.0292
ref.cat.: primary and secondary indst. t-statistic 0.706815 0.619345 0.389694 0.451314
isco: legislators, managers Beta 0.2385** 0.2365** 0.2277** 0.2407**
ref.cat.: elementary occ. t-statistic 3.767773 3.535127 3.429217 3.565926
isco: professionals Beta 0.3294** 0.3106** 0.3096** 0.3224**
isco: technicians Beta 0.1498** 0.1453** 0.1474** 0.142**
prose level 3 Beta 0.0994**
ref. cat.: prose level 1-2 t-statistic 2.243792
prose level 4-5 Beta -0.0113
ref. cat.: prose level 1-2 t-statistic -0.18833
document level 3 Beta 0.0967*
document level 4-5 Beta 0.1266
numeracy level 3 Beta 0.1344*
ref. cat.: numeracy level 1-2 t-statistic 1.659259
104 – ANNEX C
Dependent variable: in hourly learning from

main job
N=477
Regression specifications: 1 2 3 4
numeracy level 4-5 Beta 0.1936**

problem solving level 3 Beta 0.0075
ref. cat.: probl. solving level 1-2 t-statistic 0.151515
problem solving level 4-5 Beta 0.0757
ref. cat.: probl. solving level 1-2 t-statistic 0.554579
Notes: ** significant at 5% level; * significant at 10% level
ANNEX D – 105
Annex D: Overview of postsecondary professional colleges in selected

OECD countries
Austria Denmark Germany Switzerland
National terms VET colleges, Kollegs Academies of professional higher Fachschulen; Berufsakademien Professional colleges
education höhere Fachschulen
Course Length of 5 (overlapping secondary 2 2-3 >2
content studies and postsecondary), 3
in years
Fields of study Engineering and trade, Business and economics, All except for mining and All
business, management and information technology, design, education
service industries, health care
agriculture and forestry,
healthcare
Most popular n.a. Private sector Business and administration Administrative and
occupational professionals, health commercial managers and
groups professionals, legal, social and health professionals
cultural professionals,
information and communications
technology professionals
106 – ANNEX D
Austria Denmark Germany Switzerland
Workplace Mandatory in some fields (at Mandatory 3-month placement Mandatory in full-time
training least 4 weeks) programmes (minimum 20%
of study time),
corresponding field of work
in part-time programmes
Student Entry Completion of lower Completion of upper secondary Completion of vocational Completion of vocational
progression conditions secondary education (7th education or relevant vocational secondary education plus work secondary education plus
year) and selection process education and training, experience work experience
set by the institution supplemented by adequate
general secondary courses
Transition to Possibility to enroll in Additional one-year programmes National/state-level regulation: Institution level regulation
higher Fachhochschulen available to obtain a professional free access to BA or MA(in
education bachelor in some fields UASs)
Governance Ownership Public-private Mainly public but autonomous Public-private Mainly private
Funding- Public-private Mainly public Public-private Mainly private
sources
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the
economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the
forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments
and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of
an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare
policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to
co-ordinate domestic and international policies.
The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom
and the United States. The European Union takes part in the work of the OECD.
OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering
and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions,
guidelines and standards agreed by its members.
OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training
A Skills beyond School Review of Switzerland

Higher level vocational education and training (VET) programmes are facing rapid
change and intensifying challenges. What type of training is needed to meet the needs
of changing economies? How should the programmes be funded? How should they
be linked to academic and university programmes? How can employers and unions be
engaged? The country reports in this series look at these and other questions. They
form part of Skills beyond School, the OECD policy review of postsecondary vocational
education and training.
Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction and initial assessment
Chapter 2. Ensuring finance is no barrier to professional education and training
Chapter 3. Making the market work better – inter-cantonal financing arrangements
Chapter 4. Making the professional education and training (PET) market work better –
transparency and quality
Chapter 5. Responding to globalisation and technological change
Chapter 6. Improving numeracy and literacy skills
Further reading
OECD (2010), Learning for Jobs, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training,
OECD publishing.
See also www.oecd.org/education/vet.
For more information about OECD work on skills, see skills.oecd.org.
Please cite this publication as:

Fazekas, M. and S. Field (2013), A Skills beyond School Review of Switzerland,
OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264062665-en
This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and
statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org, and do not hesitate to contact us for more
information.
For more information about OECD work on skills, see skills.oecd.org

ISBN 978-92-64-06266-5
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OECD Reviews of Vocational

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A Skills beyond School

A Skills beyond School

Mihály Fazekas and Simon Field

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ISBN 978-92-64-06266-5 (PDF)

Series: OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training

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Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda.

Acronyms and key terms ................................................................................................. 8

Chapter 5. Responding to globalisation and technological change ............................ 67

Table 1.1 The Swiss labour market .................................................................................. 21

Figure 1.1 The Swiss education system ........................................................................... 14

Acronyms and key terms

Advanced Federal Professional Education and Training (PET) Diploma

Summary: strengths, challenges and recommendations

• Employers and professional associations are engaged with and

Challenges and recommendations

• There are some potential financial and non-financial barriers to

Introduction and initial assessment

This chapter describes the OECD policy study of postsecondary vocational

This review is one of a series of country reports on postsecondary

Box 1.1 Skills beyond School: the OECD study of postsecondary

Increasingly countries look beyond secondary school to more advanced

This review follows a standard methodology. Switzerland initially

The structure of the report

A snapshot of the system

In Switzerland, the Professional Education and Training (PET)1 system

Figure 1.1 The Swiss education system

In 2011, there were 52 professional college degree programmes

Diploma. The number and content of examinations change regularly as

The system in international context

The professional examinations

In the United States there are a large number of industry organised

The professional colleges

Key international indicators

Comparisons of a statistical indicator for any one country with the

Indicators of education and training

Switzerland is characterised by a high level of continued adult

Figure 1.3 Adults’ participation in formal and/or non-formal education,

All levels of education

Men with PET (tertiary B) qualifications in Switzerland earn about one

Post-secondary non-tertiary education Tertiary-type B education Tertiary-type A

Source: OECD (2011a), Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, OECD

Labour market indicators

Table 1.1 The Swiss labour market

2000 2009 2010 2010

Youth unemployment rate % of youth 4.9 8.4 7.2 16.7

Long-term unemployment % of total 29 30.1 34.3 32.4

Employment rate of women % of female 69.4 73.6 72.3 56.7

Growth of real GDP % change from 3.6 -1.9 2.6 2.9

Previous OECD recommendations

The 2009 OECD economic survey of Switzerland argued that tertiary

• Boosting information and guidance for prospective tertiary

Appreciation of the Swiss approach to postsecondary VET – key

Employers and professional associations are engaged with and

Across OECD countries

have extensive work experience and work alongside a linked programme of

Policy development has a strong institutional leadership in OPET

Across OECD countries

The system offers a flexible and effective response to diverse student

Across OECD countries